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Dear Boston

April 16, 2013 by Jennifer Che 13 Comments

_MG_3585
It all feels too eerily familiar, in a really bad way.

Eleven and a half years ago, Bryan and I were in Italy enjoying our honeymoon. We had spent a fabulous 10 days traveling through Rome, Florence, and Venice. On September 11, 2001, our plane took off from Venice, making a stopover at Brussels before heading back home to Boston.

About an hour into our second leg, a voice came on the intercom.

“There have been terrorist attacks in the US. The US is not accepting anymore planes. We are turning around and going back to Brussels.”

What followed was hours of confusion as people on the plane tried to figure out what was going on. I remember landing in Brussels, scared and confused. In the bus ride to our hotel, we strained to make out the news on the bus radio, which was (annoyingly) overdubbed in French. It wasn’t until we arrived in our hotel room that we saw the horrific pictures of the fallen WTC towers.
_MG_3596
I remember calling my family, telling them I was OK, though I didn’t know when I would make it home.

I remember feeling fear, terrorized by the thought that another bomb or plane crash could occur.

I remember feeling terribly, terribly sad, aghast, and disgusted by all the events.

And I remember feeling so, so far away from home. Far away from all my friends and family.
_MG_3610
Monday, April 15th, 2013.

I was flying, again, to Europe. This time to London.

Imagine my surprise when we got off the plane and Bryan read on his phone about some “explosions at Copley.”

It didn’t sink in quite at that moment the seriousness of it all. It wasn’t until later, when we got off the train at Paddington Station, that I started to realize what had really happened.

I’m really, really mourning for my beloved Boston. My heart especially goes out to those who have suffered needlessly as a result of this heartless act. The Marathon is supposed to be a happy, hopeful day – a day where we celebrate the hard work of so many runners, the generous hearts of those running for charities, and the countless people running in honor of others. It seems especially cruel to target this bunch.

I continue to pray for this city, especially those that were injured or in any way affected by this horrible tragedy. I feel far away, watching this all from a distance. I am reminded that people in other less stable countries deal with this type of horror much more often.

I have been amazed at the outpouring of love this city has shown. Imagine, thousands of people offering their homes to stranded strangers. And what about all those emergency workers rushing in to help when there easily could have been more live bombs?

Inspiring.

Thank you all who reached out to me, asking me if I was OK. I was really touched by that. Thank you so much.

I know this city is resilient. It will be hard – and we surely will never forget this day – but we will bounce back.

Thanks Boston, for reminding me why I love this city.
Make way for ducklings!

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All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Boston, Misc, Tidbits

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Comments

  1. William Winston says

    April 17, 2013 at 1:52 am

    I have really read this blog
    completely and this incident has undergone after a long time. At all, I have
    felt to bookmark it as this article is awesome.

    Reply
  2. Michelle Collins says

    April 17, 2013 at 8:59 am

    Glad you are safe! I had the same sinking, disgusted feeling on Monday as I did on 9/11 – an all too familiar feeling indeed.

    Reply
  3. Esther @ambitiousdelish says

    April 17, 2013 at 9:55 am

    Praying and praying. <3

    Reply
  4. Sharon says

    April 17, 2013 at 11:39 am

    As a fellow Bostonian, in nicely said.

    Reply
  5. talida says

    April 19, 2013 at 1:35 pm

    Glad you and Bryan are safe. Praying for your safe travel back.

    Reply
  6. ShesCookin says

    April 19, 2013 at 3:57 pm

    Sending healing thoughts to all Bostonians. The MIT shooting happened across the street from our daughter and SIL’s restaurant Catalyst in Cambridge. Fortunately they are safe. Everything is closed and on lockdown as the manhunt continues for the 2nd suspect. Well said and glad that you are safe.

    Reply
  7. Mardi says

    April 19, 2013 at 8:14 pm

    Jen, so glad you are safe. Boston is in my thoughts. xo

    Reply
  8. Frances Fung says

    April 19, 2013 at 10:02 pm

    Suspect in custody. Hopefully we’ll get some answers. Take care.

    Reply
  9. 谢美 谢美 says

    April 22, 2013 at 10:31 pm

    qwerewtrytu

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Jen's Top Restaurants in Boston says:
    July 7, 2015 at 3:14 am

    […] had a great Independence Day!     I originally wrote this post on April 23, 2013 following the Boston Marathon bombings. It was in honor of my beloved city, which was going through so much grief at the time. I felt […]

    Reply
  2. A Different Paris - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    June 26, 2016 at 12:04 am

    […] of heightened awareness and persistent resilience. We felt it after 9/11. More recently, we felt it after the Boston […]

    Reply
  3. Jen's Top Restaurants to visit in Boston - 2017 update - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    December 20, 2017 at 7:27 am

    […] originally wrote this post on April 23, 2013 following the Boston Marathon bombings. It was in honor of my beloved city, which was going through so much grief at the time. I felt […]

    Reply
  4. Top Places to Eat Around the Grand Place Brussels - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    August 13, 2020 at 11:51 am

    […] events. The first time was in 2001 on our honeymoon in Europe when, due to the 9/11 attacks, we couldn’t get home and spent three unexpected days in Brussels (our stopover city). That’s when I tried my first […]

    Reply

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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