Last night someone said there was ‘a mood of melancholy hanging over Boston.’  Definitely.  Since Monday, I have felt the melancholy in the pit of my stomach, and saw it yesterday in the faces of those I encountered in Downtown Crossing and the Financial District.  We are grieving now – someone or group attacked the city and attacked the people indiscriminately—small children, old people, young adults full of promise.

But I know that we will respond too—in the spirit of the Marathon, where people from around the globe celebrate what human beings can do with enough grit, commitment and perseverance.

In the face of injury and the grief of loss, we will heal.  In the face of destruction, we will rebuild.  The buildings, of course.  But we will also respond by strengthening and extending the ties of community that make Boston a truly great city.  We saw it in the selfless acts of so many people seconds after the blasts.  We saw it in the families that came together last night in a Dorchester vigil.  And we will see more in the days to come.

These ties that bind are what sustain us.  And what better tribute could we offer those who were killed and injured during a community celebration of the human spirit?