I am not a runner. Never have been.
I was not born in Boston. So, locals will never consider me to be a native, no matter how long I live here.
Yet, there is something about the Boston Marathon that gets into the soul here. Actually, the Marathon is just part of a bigger thing that celebrates the rise of the individual and the support of the community. It is part of the unique, bigger experience of Patriot’s Day weekend. Perhaps, it is the ultimate expression of individual freedom and the support of neighbors.
Patriot’s Day commemorates a day that started with the ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes shouting that “The British Are Coming!” To this day, members of the community gather their Revolutionary War garb and muskets to meet the British Red Coats. At 5:45 in the morning, the reenactment of the Battle of Lexington, performed by members of the Lexington Minute Men Company and His Majesty’s Tenth Regiment of Foot, begins. The march of the British continues on to the Old North Bridge in Concord with the “shot heard ‘round the world.” (Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson)
The Minute Men companies of many towns assemble in full Revolutionary War era clothing and march to assist the battle. In my own community, Boxborough, a young person re-enacts being Luther Blanchard, a young fifer, who is said to be the first person wounded in the Revolutionary War. Our town seal bears his image. Note the individual and the community.
There is more to Patriot’s Day. The Boston Red Sox play at an unusually early 11 AM game time with a special ceremony honoring our freedom fighting heroes. MLB always arranges the schedule to make sure that the Red Sox play at home on Patriot’s Day. The game is intended to end in time so that attendees can make it in time to see the finish of the Marathon, although the faster runners usually beat the end of the game. In Concord, we have a town parade in full Revolutionary War gear. There is the re-enactment of Paul Revere’s capture. And, so on.
We in Massachusetts think of it as being uniquely our holiday. (Although, Maine also observes Patriot’s Day. It was part of Massachusetts in the Colonial Era.) The rest of the world works. But, we are free. We take the day off and celebrate freedom – of the individual and community of Massachusetts. We also celebrate the coming of warm weather after a hard winter.
In this context, those of us here have the Boston Marathon in our DNA – even if we do not run. We know that an individual overcomes personal demons to run a grueling 26.2 mile race. Anyone can follow the race after the numbered runners take off.
And, while roads are closed that inconvenience people from Hopkinton to Boston, they are lined with members of the community cheering people on, handing out cups of water and even hosing down runners who want a cool spray. (A good friend of mine lives in a neighborhood in Natick that is totally cut off for hours because the one road to the highway is that of the Marathon. So, the entire neighborhood comes to a stop and throws a BBQ.)
So, what does the 2013 Marathon really mean? We celebrate the combined efforts of so many first responders, which resulted in the capture of the Marathon Bomber. Yet, we worry that things have changed. Will people be able to line up along the route without having bags screened? Will parents still take their children from the Red Sox game to the Finish Line?
We will make changes to reflect the new realities. But, will it change the spirit of the day?
It hasn’t. We could have lived in fear. But, look at what Watertown, Boston and surrounding communities did. An entire metropolitan area shut down so that we would not live in fear. We got together because Patriot’s Day reminded us that we have to get together to protect our freedom like was done in Lexington and Concord. It is as if to say, “If you tread on me, we will stop everything in the whole town and come to find you.” The entire community will do it. Every individual played his or her part. We will join together to protect ourselves in a unique Massachusetts way.
So, despite what is to come, I am confident that the spirit of the Marathon and of Patriot’s Day will remain. It is part of what makes us special. And, for one day at least, we can all exercise our individual and collective freedom.
Also posted in Really Cool New Stuff.com. Photo of Old North Bridge from Boston.com.
Roger Matus is an early adopter’s early adopter. He loves trying the latest technologies, especially in software and mobile, with a focus on whether they add value in a person’s life. He also is a technology marketing guru, having brought to market several major new products including large vocabulary speech recognition, hand-held audio conferencing, and more. He writes the blog Death By Email DeathByEmail.com on the foibles of our communications revolution.
Roger’s travels have brought him to five continents with repeated trips to many. He says that his breath-taking experiences snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, flying past the Aurora Borealis, standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon, going to a Buddhist monastery in the shadow of Mount Fuji, and walking the beaches in Brazil top anything that technology can offer.
