A terrible day in Minneapolis

Wednesday was an odd day. I was supposed to have my cable set up so I could finally get back to some regular posting, start watching TV again, and finally feel like the new apartment was really home. In a bizarre twist, the cable installer and the property manager had an argument that frustrated the installer so much that he left. Without setting up my cable. (For the record, I'm siding with the landlord after hearing both sides and from the cable company) I was still in the dark. Then, at around 630, my phone beeped, letting me know I had a message. For whatever reason, I couldn't get to my voicemail, and such was the case for at least two hours. I finally was able to get to it and heard the horrible news. The I-35W bridge had collapsed. Was I all right?

I called my mother back, assuring her that I was fine and got some of the background information on what had happened to what had been the busiest bridge in the state of Minnesota. I then proceeded to call back several other worried friends, and worried about some of my own. There were roughly 200 people on the bridge at the time, assuring that everyone in the metro would know someone involved somehow with the incident. For me, fortunately, there have been now fatalities, and the friend I was most concerned about happened to be 30 miles away from the bridge when it fell. A woman in my aunts book club remains unconcious at the Hennepin County Medical Center, my employer's cleaning woman has a sister who was on the bridge as it fell, and thankfully she walked away. The cleaning woman even got an interview with Katie Couric. Most closely, my cousin's husband who is a firefighter in South St. Paul made a tragic discovery, finding one of the deceased in a submerged vehicle.

This has been compared to 9/11, and to the country, there is no comparison, but in a way, this incident is similar in scope to Minneapolis as to the Trade Center attack was to New York. Everyone drove on 35W, just as everyone saw the Twin Towers on the New York skyline. This could have been anyone. The loss of life is no comparison either, and for that we have the September 11th attacks to thank, as the emergency responders were organized and trained as they never had been before to respond to a disaster of this magnitude.

There were of course many sports connections to the disaster, from Flip Saunders being yards away from the bridge to Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor having a granddaughter go down with the bridge (and thankfully survive). The Twins continued playing, and there are several images of fans caught amidst the rubble. The decision to play was wise, keeping those in the Dome off the streets where they would make it more difficult for rescue efforts. One thinks of the Royals, who happened to be in town on the worst of days for Minneapolis, and the Indians who followed.

I wanted to highlight another team however, for their compassion in this time, because I don't think enough behind the scenes good acts get mentioned, especially by bloggers. My employer has a contract with the Boston Red Sox, and though we must be a relatively minor partner with the team, a representative of the organization called to ensure that everyone with my company was all right. It seems like such an easy and minor act of compassion, but of the many companies and organizations we work with across the country, the Red Sox were the only ones to check on us. I just wanted to put it out there that as much as most Minnesotans don't like Boston sports right now, the Red Sox have to be among the classiest teams in professional sports.

My prayers and best wishes go out to those who have been more dearly impacted by this tragedy.