How the heroic deeds of many defeated the terrorists, and a return to normalcy for Boston

The last five days have been nothing short of unbelievable. Starting at a terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon that killed three and wounded over 180, followed by days of uneasiness, and finally a 19 hour manhunt that culminated last night and captivated the entire world.

This all happened in our back yard, and quite frankly scared the shit out of all of us.

I know I'm not alone in turning on the news/police scanner late Friday night with the news that an MIT policeman had been shot, and not turning it off until 24 hours later when all of Boston was out on the common celebrating the end of the madness.

It was terrifying but also the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The BPD, state police and FBI were phenomenal and the community rallied together in a way that was pretty damn inspiring. It was also awesome to see the way the world had our backs, making sure everyone knew their thoughts were with Boston.

Sitting here a day later it's amazing to look at how the chain of people doing good deeds led to the terrorists capture.

- There was Carlos Arredondo, one of the first heroes in all of this. The man who was seen on iconic (and gruesome) pictures literally holding the legs of victim Jeffrey Bauman Jr. together. His actions saved Bauman's life.

- After waking up from surgery (having both legs amputated below the knee), one of the first things Bauman did was give the FBI a tip on who set the bombs down. Read this entire article on Bauman's story, but here's an excerpt.

“He woke up under so much drugs, asked for a paper and pen and wrote, ‘bag, saw the guy, looked right at me,” Chris said.

After Jeff's confession, he was soon after interviewed by FBI officials, giving agents a description of the man. The information was what allegedly helped the FBI track down the suspects, which led to the deadly shoot-out near Massachusetts Institute of Techonology Thursday night.

Incredible. And it wouldn't have happened without Arredondo.

- Late on Friday MIT police officer Sean Collier was shot and killed on campus after a confrontation with the suspected bombers. His bravery cost him his life, but simultaneously started the manhunt which led to the suspects being killed/caught. The terrorists had bombs on them, so who knows how many deaths Collier prevented that night. True American hero.

- All of the BPD/State police and FBI were amazing. They engaged in a shootout with the terrorists, killing one and maiming the other before staking out "suspect #2" nearly a full day later. All of these guys deserve a parade in the city for their work. Amazing.

- And finally how about the guy with the boat? Goes outside for a walk with his reportedly ailing wife after the lockdown ends and sees the boat cover flapping around. Realizes one of the ties has been cut, climbs the ladder, sees blood and looks inside, seeing a "crumpled body". The balls on this guy! Terrorist staring him in the eye and he still takes a look before calling the cops. Sam Cassell sized balls.

Again there were thousands others, and I know you guys all know this, but I just thought the chain of awesomeness was worth re-hasing. While evil may have temporarily taken a lead, the good deeds of thousands led a comeback for the ages, crushing the actions of "asshole #1" and "asshole #2".

Now it's Saturday. The victims of the attacks aren't going to come back, and those injured will not magically heal. But the city is safe again. Safe to return to normalcy, which thankfully includes a full slate of sporting events.

The Bruins and Sox will both play in front of awesome home crowds, a scene that is sure to be incredibly emotional.

Meanwhile, a 150 miles Southwest, the Celtics tip off their first round series with the Knicks. The teams—like their cities—do not like each other. And while that dislike on the court may be seen trivial by some, it's not. It's normalcy. Today at 3 o'clock I will be swearing at my TV, angry about blown defensive assignments and bad calls. I will probably call Carmelo Anthony some bad names as well. And that's awesome. Because as recently as yesterday that wasn't possible. We were in lockdown, being terrorized by a child/women/cop killer after the manhunt of a lifetime.

Today, thanks to the heroic actions of many, the city begins it's return to normalcy. And that includes getting irrationally angry about sporting events.

Let's go Celtics. Let's go Boston. Let's go America.

My official prediction - Celtics in 6. Be sure to use the comment section to talk about the game, match-ups you like/don't like, ect. Let's get back to normal folks. America!

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