I have a new hero

Let's move past how long it has been since I last wrote shall we?  Chalk it up to what I am calling my great big fat cancer hangover.  Gladly I feel like it is moving on.

Now on to my new hero.

Monday I came home from work with a touch of the flu.  Sometimes it is best to call it a day and go undercover.

My sick day ritual is simply put on comfy pi's, lay in bed, and sleep.

When I woke up and popped open my computer I was shocked to see that a bomb had gone off at the Boston Marathon.

The very first thing I saw was the image of the man in the cowboy hat helping the young man who, as I learned later from an un-cropped photo, lost both of his legs.

I assumed that the pair were friends.  That one friend happened to be in the wrongest of wrong places, at the wrong time, and somehow his friend, was, well, not.

At the time we knew from media reports that there had been 2 casualties, so when it was later announced that 3 people had died, I wondered what happened to the guy in the photo.

Today I learned his name, Jeff Bauman Jr.  And that he survived, having both legs surgically amputated above the knee.

I also learned his friend was actually a stranger.  A man named Carlos Arredondo who has seen his fair share of pain and tragedy.  One son killed in Iraq, during his second tour of duty, and another by his own hand after spiraling into an unfathomable depression after his brothers death.

He was at the marathon supporting the runners and handing out American Flags to spectators.

You see, after his sons died, Carlos decided to dedicate his life to PEACE.

I think it is time for more of us to do the same.