So you may ask what do Tears for Fears, Music and Terrorism have to do with Tripping Vittles a place to read about travel and get recipes for food and cocktails. Tripping Vittles was born out of my being witness to the Boston Bombings.

I found myself after hearing and seeing the devastation in Boston not wanting to do anything I did not love to do.  It took time for me to come to  grips with what had happened in Boston. In some ways everyday I still try to figure out why things happened the way they did for me that day.  I am sure it will haunt me in some ways till the day I actually die but today I am not dead and I am living my life happy and healthy in spite of what happened to me. If you ask those closest to me I am probably better off today after the bombings than before.

Message of Hope

Monday night was a sick turn in this war but it should also be a reminder of the day we got the upper hand on these evil awful humans. You see they have now bombed in essence woman and children. All the other things they have done did not change the fact we kept on living.  They thought this act would change things.   A Strike at what we hold  most dear our culture, our children and our love of life. What shows living and loving life more than a bunch of little girls worshiping their Nickelodeon dance princess.

Monday night a suicide bomber blew himself up along with 22 children and parents. He wounded physically another 60 or so and some 15,000+ will forever have the night they saw Ariana Grande play a show be the night that changed them forever.

I was forever changed by 2 Bombs in Boston.  The Manchester  bombing will rock all involved to their core but we in general as people are resilient and strong and we don’t give up.

How you say is it a message of hope? Because our hearts are filled with love because we keep living life. We will not let them change us. They have knocked us down but we get back up.

Tears for Fears, Music and Terrorism….

This is a photo of what changed my life on April 15, 2013. I could show you bombs and carnage but the real change that day came from 2 signs.

I stopped that morning for some unknown reason and  talked to 2 angels who were making their own signs, they encouraged me to buy supplies and make signs for my runners.  That turn of events caused me to walk further from the finish line than I wanted  to find a place to hang my signs. I had no idea how many people actually attend the last half mile of this race. Lets just say I was with about half a million other folks and I was running late. My friends were closing in on the last miles of their marathon.   I was making a be-line to the finish  for the obligatory triumphant photos when the world changed.

The world changed but terrorism did not win. We joined together and we helped each other that day. I came home to friends and family helping me.  Were there dark days?  Sure but there was always light even if just a pinhole some days.

Personally  I was angry,  I wanted everyone at the mosque where those boys who did that dead. I wanted us to wipe people and places off the map. I went on rants about Rolling Stone Magazine for putting a rock star photo of one of the bombers on their cover. My anger was a disguise for my fear.

Slowly I started to do things again. My first public activity was a pewee flag football game. I was not comfortable there. It was some time before I could go to the mall and when I did I packed a backpack full of things I would need if something happened. I still carry a few necessities that would be helpful in a crisis but my bag is much lighter now.

Yes, I quit my job. Working for a big box store and  a manager who did not even ask me after things happened if I was ok was not a healthy place for me.  My co-workers were awesome but even they did not understand, you see you don’t wear these scars from an event like this on the outside. They travel with you on the inside, they are your passengers for life.

This past Monday night I was sitting high up in the stands at the Hall and Oats concert in Columbus Ohio.

Tears for Fears were the opening band and they were coming on for the encore. If you know 80’s music you know Shout Lyrics at about the same time I was clapping and screaming Shout Shout Let it all out, My phone starts to vibrate.

That means there is something happening in the world.  I am not a news junkie I just have not  shut off this feature of my phone. So as its vibrating I am singing to this song at the top of my lungs.

Shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I can do without                                                                              Come on, I’m talking to you, come on                                                                                                                         Shout, shout, let it all out, these are the things I can do without                                                                              Come on, I’m talking to you, come on………

We are the people are winners….

You see after almost 4 years of processing my experiences with terrorism I have come to realize one thing. Terrorist want us to change our lives they want us to be afraid and miserable like they are. No matter the faith the terrorist is already dead inside.

When you are dead inside its easy to hate  you can strap a bomb to your body or drop a bag at the feet of children and walk away you have no conscious.  The reasons stated for the hate are many.  Hate of  your government like Timothy McVeigh  in Oklahoma City . Interpretation of the word of  God, like ISIS or Planned Parenthood Clinic bombers.  Terrorist want us to feel their  misery  because being dead inside is misery.   The problem is most of us are not really that miserable. Busy, tired, fed up, hate our jobs or our neighbors but the vast majority of us still love life enough that killing is not a choice we make.

The terrorist mission is to strike fear in people to make them see their God and his rules as the righteous path. The terrorist  wants to recruit people to their way of thinking but that’s not how it works.

Yes there are many  around the world from all walks of life who would rather hate than love.  They cannot see the good in other humans or in life itself.  Maybe its the worlds fault but I won’t let them off so easy you see there are far too many people who come from awful horrible places.  Those who survived horrible life events who go on to do amazing incredible things. Despite their own hardships they  have love and compassion for those of different faiths, colors and orientations.

Terrorists are the losers….

Each person who commits a terrorist act is a loser at the game of life. Terrorists will never succeed  because  their ideology is broken.  There is not a religion, God or cause that does better by killing their flock.  We the people who live and love life and love each other and respect our differences are already  succeeding where terrorists fail.

No matter what a terrorist does  they will not stop the light of billions of people who at their core love life.

Monday night I was sitting with an arena full of people at the exact time those people  in Manchester were listening to the last songs of their concert, think about how many other shows at how many other places across the globe were doing the same thing at the same time on Monday night.

Together we will overcome. We all will mourn for those lost.  People of all faiths will extend helping hands to the survivors. Together we will come closer as one.  Love compassion and caring will always drive the darkness away. History and the human spirit have proven this again and again.

Terrorists  are the losers in this game of life.  It will take a lot from all of us who love to live but remember light outshines dark every time.