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Shelter In Place

Okay… it’s 4pm on Friday and we have spent the whole day (and not a bad day weather-wise, for Boston, sniff) “sheltering in place” at the governor’s request while the epic manhunt for the 19-year Boston Marathon bomber happens in nearby Watertown. Too much excitement these days; it brings to mind the curse “May you live in interesting times.”

My day started just before 4am, when I woke up after perceiving faint noises outside — distant helicopters and sirens. It’s actually a standard waking time for me; I fall asleep around 9pm and seven hours seems to be all my body needs. I had planned to go to the gym when it opened at 5am. It was going to be a “rest day” from running and I was going to go stretch and flex all the little core muscles that running doesn’t touch. So I popped a coffee pod in the Keurig, ripped a few squares off a chocolate bar, and opened my MacBook to check email and news.

Of course, when I saw the news, I realized quickly I would not be going to the gym, which is near Watertown’s Arsenal Mall — the command epicenter for what evolved to be the manhunt. I also realized that the whole explosive shoot-out between the bombers and the cops happened less than two miles from us — incidentally, right on my bread-and-butter weekday running route that I usually do 2-3 times a week (including yesterday).

So, with the gym being a definite no-go, I thought about taking a slow, easy 6-mile run. What’s crazier: To run on your designated rest day, or to run in the vicinity of on-the-lam terrorists who might possibly have something against runners? Too crazy, even for me; instead, I decided to make some headway on my next paper for my Grad class. But then I started reading CNN’s newsfeed, which shortly before 5am declared that both terrorists had been caught. And since my legs feel pretty good, I decided to be crazy and go running.

Slow and easy. I stuck to my neighborhood, doing loops on hilly residential streets and taking three turns around the town reservoir trail. I saw two other runners, but otherwise the streets were deserted. As I headed towards home through Cushing Square, I passed an idling police car.

“Jogger! Jogger!” Stern yells pierced through my headphones, which were blasting Awolnation.

I stopped running and smiled meekly at the female officer.

“Belmont is in lockdown! There is an armed and dangerous suspect on the loose in Watertown! Go home!”

I waved, nodded, and ran away. I felt a little stupid, but at least it’s conceivable that someone would get up and go running without checking the news first…or, that they checked the news and it wrongly said that both terrorists were apprehended…

So I got my 6 miles in, but the rest of the day was up in the air — no leaving the house until further notice. I assumed that they would catch the terrorist quickly and we’d go to work/school eventually, but by noon we’d given up on that notion.

Little Boy is taking it all in stride. We explained that the police were looking for a “very bad guy” and we had to stay home so they could look for him. He accepted this with staggering understanding and very few questions. I don’t think he understands how surreal all of this is…

It’s like a snow day without the snow, and sadly without the advance warning. The only foods we have abundant stockpiles of are apples, yogurt, and beer. We’re rationing the bread (someone please, send flour!)

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