Neil Diamond "Sweet Caroline"

I've been away for the last 10 days, on vacation in North Carolina.  10 days is a looong time ago.

Hell, even as a write this on Monday morning, it still hasn't been a full week since the Boston Marathon bombings took place, never mind the craziness of the manhunt, lockdown and capture in the days that followed.

It was pretty weird to be away from here while all this was taking place.

On the one hand, watching it unfold on TV in North Carolina was almost like being home, because the NC stations often just carried the feed from local Boston stations.  We saw familiar faces and heard familiar voices, talking about familiar places---it was like watching it at home.

And on the other hand, we were removed from it all.  There was a bit of a disconnect, since we weren't among a population that was in the thick of it.

On Saturday morning, we started our trek off Ocracoke Island, and the long drive up the Outer Banks.  The last stop before crossing the bridge back to the mainland is a rest stop at the Monument to the Wright Brothers at Kittyhawk.  While our gang used the facilitites, I took a moment to look at Facebook to see what was going on among my friends.

"Did Papi just drop the F bomb?"

There were a good dozen friends who posted this or something similar, moments after David Ortiz addressed the crowd, the City Of Boston and the World before Saturday's Red Sox game.

We got back on the road, and I found the game on the radio.

When they brought out Neil Diamond to sing "Sweet Caroline," we turned it up, and I looked over at my wife.  We both had tears in our eyes.

Why?

While going through a range of emotions over the course of the week---scared, shocked, saddened, angry, worried, relieved---neither of us had cried.

Why now?

We talked about it, but couldn't quite wrap our hands around the answer.

Was it a release?  Was it a connection to the City as a community?  Was it simply the power of music?

I can't say.

But I watched it again this morning, and teared up all the same.

Thanks Neil.


See the video on Youtube.


Hear the original on Youtube.