PROFILES IN COWARDICE

Today, the United States Senate voted down several proposals that would have expanded gun control. The measures that failed to reach a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority included: 1) background checks favored by 90% of Americans, 2) a ban on high-capacity gun magazines, 3) and a ban on assault weapons that are the weapon of choice of both soldiers in battlefields and mass murderers in our schools and on our streets.

There were many victims or family members of victims of gun violence who were present in the Senate when the final votes were cast.  Among them was Ms. Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the the Virginia Tech shootings. Upon hearing the results of the vote, Ms. Maisch shouted, "Shame on You." I cannot think of three better words to describe how I am so many Americans feel about the cowardly 46 Senators, including 4 Democrats (Begich of Alaska, Pryor of Arkansas, Baucus of Montana, and Heitkamp of North Dakota), who failed to stand up for me, you, and our children.

In a stirring Op-Ed, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords echoed Ms. Maisch words -  Shame on you! - as she decried these legislators' cowardice.  These Senators helped defeat common sense today while helping the munitions manufacturers and their acolytes win.

President Obama was equally critical in a statement from the White House, which he gave while surrounded by families of those affected by gun violence.  The President said that this fight was not over despite the cowardice of these legislators. He said he would continue to fight for the dead, the maimed, and their loved ones.  He implored us to get involved and contact our congressional "leaders." I encourage you to do the same. Then, he became Comforter-in Chief and tried to provide some measure of solace to the grieving family members that had been affected by gun violence.

On a day when my own daughter's school felt compelled to conduct a "lock-down drill," it is hard to have faith in this country and in this world.  At Cate's school, the children were told that this exercise was about self-control and safety and that is was just practice. When I asked little Cate why they were practicing this drill, she merely said, "In case a stranger comes into my school." God forbid that might ever happen, but that is probably what the parents in Virgina Tech thought after Columbine or what the Newtown parents thought after Virgina Tech.

When will enough be enough?  What disaster must take place for gun owners and gun makers to be inconvenienced with greater gun regulation and oversight? How many lives are these "civil liberties" worth? To anyone who has lost a loved one or who is kept up at night worrying about their loved ones, the answer is that no other massacres should be necessary to effect change.

We have had a lot of tragedy lately - Boston, ricin-laced letters. However, the greatest tragedy is the unwillingness of our elected leaders to stand with us, to protect us, and to put politics behind principle.

I will not soon forget these 46 cowardly Senators, and I urge you to make them feel your scorn - not with firearms that they would let proliferate on your streets and your kids' schools - but at the ballot box. 2014 cannot come soon enough, and I will support any Democratic primary opponent on these cowards...

WE ARE ALL BOSTONIANS!

LASTING IMAGE

There have been many images plastered across television screens, webpages, and newspapers since the tragedy in Boston yesterday. However, one image has captivated me and so many people more than all the others. 

Martin Richard loved little league and spending time with his family, with whom he attended the Marathon annually. He was eight, the age Nicholas will turn in July.

The bomb took his life. However, his spirit and hopefully his message of peace, which he wrote after the tragedy in Newtown, will prevail in the days to come.

Sweet dreams little prince.

HEARTBREAK HILL

Today, bombs exploded in at least two locations near the the finish line of the Boston Marathon. A scene of celebration was rapidly transformed into a scene of carnage rivaling the horrors witnessed in war zones. Based upon the most recent reporting, at least two people have died and over 130 people have been injured - many of whom have lost limbs or whole parts of their bodies.

It is still unclear who is responsible for such a heinous and cowardly attack.  Finding out who perpetrated this disaster and why is the question of the day. However, even once the guilty are caught and their motives are clarified, our hurt and our spirits will remain shaken.

This is because sport and running, specifically, are the ultimate acts of freedom.  One only needs a pair of shoes and a surface to run.  In this country, the young, the old, men, women, and children are all free to run, to push themselves, and to test their limits in a race like the marathon.

I ran the New York City marathon in 2004. I was injured during that race and took several years to get back into running. However, I have no regrets about running and completing that 26.2 mile race. 

That race taught me about human perseverance in the face of pain - physical, mental, and emotional. That race taught me that I could do something that most people find unimaginable. That race taught me that we never walk or run alone. 

I still remember a young man my age - his bib had the name Dan it and said he was from Indiana - who helped carry me through the final miles.  Dan saw me struggling, half-walking, half-stumbling, and he encouraged me to keep going. We walked/ran for several miles, and our shared suffering and strength helped propel me forward.  Each of us knew nothing about the other, except that we were both runners and that we both needed a helping hand. That is the essence of the marathon for those who run it and those who cheer the runners on.

In many ways, our lives are marathons. We face steep uphill challenges like the crest of Boston's Heartbreak Hill. We have starts and stops. We sometimes fail and have to wait until the next year to accomplish our goals. However, we are never alone - in victory or defeat. To those who sought to terrorize us, we are terrified today by your violence. However, we know that we are not alone, and our solidarity will give us strength in the coming days.

Today, we are all Bostonians.  Even in New York City, the rival of all Boston rivals, fraternity replaced scorn. At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a simple tribute was projected on the building's facade. It is shown below.

Tomorrow is a new day in America. Legions of runners like me will face that day tomorrow morning. We will be greeted not by darkness... but by light.

TRUE LOVE

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about love. No, this does not have anything to do with Valentine's Day last month. Rather, I recently saw the movie Amour and read the book Me Before You. Each of these works made me think about life and the lengths to which we are willing to go for the ones we love.

Amour won the Best Foreign Film this year and tells the story of an octogenarian French couple. Their lives are irrevocably altered when the wife suffers a devastating and progressive stroke. The husband assumes the role of caregiver while still somehow maintaining an intense love of his wife that far exceeds anything I have ever felt.  This comment is not meant to disparage my marriage. Rather, it speaks to the depth of this particular husband's devotion.  He is willing to do anything for his wife, and one cannot help but hope for him to succeed. Depending on one's perspective, he does.

Last night I finished reading another incredibly moving work about love despite illness - this time a debilitating spinal cord injury. That book was called Me Before You. The main character Louisa Clark, is a young woman, who has been hired to care for a quadriplegic man named William Traynor. Before Will met Louisa, he was a playboy, a world traveler, a successful business - i.e. someone who lived big! All of that ended when he was hit by a motorcycle and rendered immobile and wholly dependent on others.

Before Louisa met Will, she was a waitress in a small town in the English countryside - Will's hometown. Louisa had never left England, was in an unfulfilling long-term relationship, and lived in a crowded house with her parents, sister, and her sister's illegitimate son.  However, her world view changes dramatically once she accepts a position as Will's caretaker.  In fact, one could draw a line marking Louisa's awakening, and that line was drawn by Will.

I will not give away the endings to these two exceptional works of art, but I will encourage you to see and read them for yourself. After experiencing these stories, you will come away affected. You will have a greater sense of how life and our loved ones are gifts to be treasured. You will think about your life in pre-Amour and pre-Me Before You terms. If we are lucky, the lessons we learn from these works will not be fleeting. I hope these lessons remain for a long while....

BIOGRAPHY BALL

Last week, we attended the Biography Ball at Nicholas' school. What is the Biography Ball, you ask? Every two years, members of the Junior Class (second and third graders) get to chose a historical figure to be for the day.  The students read books on their person of choice, write a brief report about the person without revealing his/her identity, and dress up as their person on the day of the Biography Ball. On that day, the parents come in to class and try to guess the identity of the other 19 or so characters. Nicholas chose Benjamin Banneker for his character.

I had never heard of Mr. Banneker until the Biography Ball, but I will share a few facts about him courtesy of Nicholas. Mr. Banneker was a free black man born in the 18th Century near Baltimore.  He was a tinkerer and is called by many the "first African-American scientist."

Reportedly, Mr. Banneker once took apart a watch. After studying the inner workings, he is said to have designed his own watch. He also wrote an almanac on an annual basis that contained a variety of unique and important facts and observations.

Finally, Mr. Banneker was also known for his principled opposition to slavery. He once wrote a letter to then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. In that letter, Banneker asked Jefferson how he rectified writing "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence with the fact that many people in America, Jefferson included, owned slaves. Jefferson did not have a good answer in his reply to Banneker. Nicholas astutely wrote in his report of Jefferson's hypocrisy - "when you say one thing but then do the opposite."

At the Ball, I managed to guess the identity of the figures for all but one child - the composer Edvard Grieg. Like "Edvard," Nicholas stumped everyone.

Until that day none of the parents had heard of Benjamin Banneker. However, I have a feeling that all of us will remember this man after Nicholas brought him to life in writing and in pottery in the Design Study Class.

Here's to Nicholas and here's to Benjamin Banneker!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Today, Barcelona accomplished what no other European team has ever achieved - a comeback after losing the first leg of a Champions' League series 2-0.

Words are not sufficient to describe what these players - especially Messi - accomplished today. I will let these videos of their 4 magisterial goals speak for themselves.

Enjoy! I know I did!