<p>fishymom, cell phone service is being blocked in Boston to prevent detonations of IEDs by cell phone signal. But twitter reports (boston.com has a live feed) say that some people can receive calls but can’t call out; others can’t receive but can call in. Text messaging is supposedly working.</p>
<p>There’s also a call out for people in the area to help provide shelter for stranded runners.</p>
<p>As honorable and noble as that sounds, I can’t imagine people who have just finished running a marathon being in any shape at all to donate blood. I’d be surprised if the Red Cross would clear them to donate- seems incredibly risky.</p>
<p>/Exactly/ what I thought but I was scared to post in fear of criticism.</p>
<p>I agree, greenbutton, most people are good. I am sure there are lines of people at the hospitals waiting to donate blood. They won’t need the blood from the marathon runners, who are not in any condition to donate! </p>
<p>I have seen numbers as high as over 100 injured. These will be mostly young, healthy people. It reminds me of the situation in Israel, where cafes, nightclubs, buses are bombed - places where young people tend to be.</p>
<p>The news reported that the cell phone service has been " rolled back " because of the potential that cell phones were used as detonation devices
My 15 year old daughter and I just got in the door from our weekend visit to my older daughters there…we were right there just yesterday and Saturday and also at the Red Sox game</p>
<p>fishymom - tv just had report that AT&T said phone networks congested and recommended using texts to get through, so reporter said they doubt they would announce this if shutting service down completely</p>
<p>That’s what I thought too, Snowdog. This is, by definition, terrorism, no matter who is responsible.</p>
<p>fishymom, can you correspond by internet?</p>
<p>She’s going to be okay, but I certainly understand. You want to reach out and hug your kids when stuff like this happens, much less if they are in the vicinity!</p>
<p>Yes, Nrdsb4, I am crying. These are young people, athletes, friends and family, volunteers, first responders. At this point, two are dead, and others have lost limbs. Imaging being a marathon runner and losing a leg. It’s sickening.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for Pres. Obama. I would not want to address the nation at this point. He is not having an easy second term.</p>
<p>Nrds, I agree about the running community. I used to be a marathon runner and coach, and for some reason harming this event seems particularly cruel. People run for months and sometimes years to qualify for this event. If you qualify, it’s a happening, and family and friends would go out to see you run.</p>
<p>DH finished the race about an hour before the bombs. There are no words . . .</p>
<p>(I am not able to call out on my cell phone but am able to text and receive calls.)</p>
<p>@Nrdsb, yes…I too have been crying all afternoon. This is just too close to home. Two of my children live right there and we were there in the midst of all of the action at the finishing line during the weekend. There was an event with children running sprints in a partitioned off area right on Boylston on Saturday. I cringe when I think of it. I feel like my head is going to explode right now.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the info, I truly appreciate it! I am just beside myself, we are having severe thunderstorms and my TV and internet are going in and out. The storms have passed and my service seems stable, so I am getting it together. My daughter is 1500 miles away from home, this is pretty scary stuff!</p>
<p>hoping some of our CC members check in and let us know they/their families are o.k.<br>
BCEagle, others…please post!</p>
<p>I was wondering about BCEagle as well.</p>
<p>BC posted in the Diet and Exercise thread, apparently, he is ok.</p>
<p>This made me cry as well. Not that there isn’t plenty of reason to cry over a situation like this, but Patriots Day commemorates the American Revolution - “here once the embattled farmer stood and fired the shot heard round the world.” It’s an attack on the idea of democracy and ordinary people demanding rights as citizens. And that is why it hurts beyond the loss of life, the injuries, which are really just unthinkable.</p>
<p>I just got home. I was in a bar near the finish line celebrating a friend’s race when we started getting text alerts about the explosions. Apparently we were 150 feet away from the second one. Ended up taking a very long walk home since my friends and I really didn’t want to get on a train and go underground.</p>
<p>I also had friends who were working at the finish line and fortunately they are okay as well.</p>
<p>This makes me so sad. I am a runner. A very, very slow runner who has learned to LOVE running and the running community. It’s a very positive, enthusiastic group of people. The races are so much fun. MOWC and I just ran a half marathon in St. Louis weekend before last, along with 14 of our online running friends. </p>
<p>People train so hard and long just to qualify for Boston. The mother of one of my daughter’s best friends qualified for Boston - her time was fast enough that she would have even qualified if she were a man! So she was there today. We heard that she is safe, thank God. Another of our friends posted on FB, “Just crossed finish before explosions. Pandemonium. Heading home grateful but badly shaken.”</p>
<p>eirann, at 150 ft away, you didn’t hear or feel it?!</p>
<p>Glad you and yours are okay!</p>
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<p>I think only around half had finished when they went out. I’m sure there was a huge crowd of runners coming down.</p>