2020-2021-NON-FICTION

Abortion Op-Ed

In 1973, Roe v. Wade law was established granting women the ability to choose whether or not to abort their pregnancy without government restrictions. Nearly 40 years later, the same argument whether abortions should illegal or not is still up in the air. Does the embryo’s life matter? Is it the mother’s choice? 

 Anti-abortionists argue that no matter if a baby is in the womb or out, all babies have the right to life. Pope Pius XII used the “Right to Life” term in 1951 stating, “Every human being, even the child in the womb, has the right to life directly from God and not from his parents, not from any society of human authority” This, however, goes against the first amendment, John Irving writes in his article published in the New York Times on June 3, 2019. “‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ In other words, we are free to practice the religion of our choice, and we are protected from having someone else’s religion practiced on us. Freedom of religion in the United States also means freedom from religion.” No one shall force their religion upon other people, abortion should not illegal just because some people believe in certain religions. Freedom from religion also means that these women who want or need to get an abortion can make their own choices since it is her body and she is carrying the child for nine months. 

Women's rights are a major standpoint in the pro-choice argument because women are the ones carrying the baby. The general public should not be determining whether a woman is allowed to abort their baby or keep it. Katha Pollitt, a writer for the New Yorker published an article on May 24, 2019, stating that illegalizing abortions can be deemed unlawful. She writes, “Legal abortion means that the law recognizes a woman as a person. It says that she belongs to herself. Most obviously, it means that a woman has a safe recourse if she becomes pregnant as a result of being raped.” This resource is given to all women and should not be taken away. It protects the health and wellbeing of them and the stress of taking care of a child. It is a right to determine what you want to do with your own body. Many women may be stuck with children without being financially stable. Without the right care, the baby and the mother could have a tragic life. This is a right that women rely on and should not be taken away.

In conclusion, the choice of abortion is up to the woman to decide, no matter religion or peer pressure. That is one of the many benefits of living in the U.S. However, abortion has always caused a lot of controversies and no one will ever be completly satisfied. Therefore, it is up to the people of today to promote and change a better world full of choices and freedom.

(This was written by Sara Volpe and Noa Munn,

December 1st, 2020.)(This will also be published in the Lit Mag)

Abortion Op-ED reflection

As I read article after article, it really helped me get a different point of view of why some people believe their way is right. I also got a better understanding of how this has affected women for so many years, not just mentally but also physically. I have also gotten a better understanding of why most women do get abortions. Learning about this heavy topic has really made me think a lot about what I can do personally to make a change in a positive way and spread my knowledge. I am continuing to educate myself more on abortion. Even though I do not agree with the pro life argument, I do now have a better and more clear understanding of their views and exactly why they think abortion should be illegal. Overall, this project has been a really great opportunity, which has helped me learn and expand my knowledge.

(Sara Volpe)

This summer I watched a historic space launch that happened in June. It was a very  historical launch because the last time they launched was in 1975. The astronauts that went on this trip were Bob Bhenken and Doug Hurley. This inspired me to read more about space. So, I decided to read a book called Chasing Space, which is about an astronaut named Leland Melvin and his career in the NFL and with NASA.   

One thing that stood out to me was that he went to the NFL and played for the Detroit Lions, but he did not play well at a game against Philadelphia while trying to catch a pass and lose his defender. Previously, he had torn his hamstring, and could no longer play well until his leg had healed. As a result, he was released, and the Dallas Cowboys took him as a free agent.  While he was in the NFL he went to grad school. During practice, he re-injured his torn hamstring and was later released again by the NFL. He then went back home to Lynchburg Virginia where he went back to grad school and studied engineering.  

After grad school, he went to NASA Langley Research center and worked as a  scientist. In his book, he says, “I spent my time doing research on optical systems that use lasers and optical fibers.” After he worked at Langley, Melvin went to the National Technical Association where he met Katherine Johnson Then, years later, Katherine Johnson introduced him to the great singer Pharell Willams. He did not stay much at the NTA because he had to go to Russia and be an engineer for the Soyuz rocket.

He was training  in NASA to become an astronaut but he had a very bad accident that left him deaf. The pressure from the training module was very strong and his ears  could not handle the pressure from the training. However, after his surgery he healed and there was improvement in his right ear, but not as much in his left. His doctor that helped him heal  from his ear problems is named Rich Willams. While Leland was in the hospital, he found out that his friend Patty was injured in a plane  crash and  she later died.   

Shortly after, he met this astronaut named Bill Ready at the  Houston Space Center. Leland served at APP which stands for Astronaut Potted Plant, but he only worked for a few months. He was later sent to Japan because he had a job at the Japan Aerospace Agency where he  was  engineering a  new robotic arm. In Brussels, he astronaut Frank De Winne who commanded him on his last flight to space on the shuttle Atlantis. 

Leland strapped in his seat belt in the shuttle and they bursted off Cape Canaveral.  They flew high above the earth and circled around orbit. Months later he landed at Kennedy space center in time for a Thanksgiving feast with his crew. He was given a T-shirt  from Pharell Willams from  the BBC Ice Cream clothing line. Later, he went to a Texans game which had a talented wide receiver named Andre Johnson. Later, in 2016 he hosted a show called Child Genius, which was a very popular show in 2016.  

In conclusion, I think that Leland was very inspiring and motivating in this book because he still made it to the NFL and NASA. I know that I will do this too and make my dreams happen. I learned to be a good example for other people and to never give up.      

Scene: “A Quiet World”

By Nina Vermette

Time: 2021

Place: Massachusetts, USA

Nina Vermette: What was your initial reaction to when school was cancelled for the year due to the pandemic?

Austin: When school was first cancelled, I was happy because March was a long month, and this would be a nice break. 

Narrator: Austin Su and Christine Weng, students at Brown Middle School. 

Christine: Yeah, and I just remember thinking, “Hell yeah!” It was awesome, man. It was just free time to waste with friends. 

Austin: Like a snow day.

Christine: Yeah, like a snow day, but then it got longer and that’s when hell erupted. 

Austin: I didn't expect it to be that long.

Christine: Yeah, my mental status has just gone do-

Austin: I thought it would just be a long vacation. 

Jason: I was pretty excited, uhm, I honestly- when I heard the news on the phone I was a bit conflicted. I remembered I ruined one of the english assignments that was due the next day, and the world was burning. I was conflicted between being happy and being kind of upset. I didn’t know what the world would become or what would happen. 

Catherine: The first day I was excited because I thought it would be short term..

Christine: That's what we all thought.

Maddie: Yeah for real. I think I was excited because I thought it would only last for a little bit. It hadn't hit how this would play out and how it would end up lasting for a year, but yeah. 

Narrator: Maddie Traxler, Catherine Chung, and Jason Wong. Eighth graders to Brown. 

Catherine: ...but now there's less interaction which I can't decide whether it’s a good or bad thing. Anyway- no it’s just a harder learning environment I guess. 

Nina: How have your thoughts about the pandemic changed?

Christine: *gagging noises* 

Austin: So many people have died and it’s still dragging out, I mean it's been a year- I just feel like I'm in a prison...and I feel horrible for the people who have died.

Christine: It really sucks because you can't go anywhere and you have to wear a mask at all times. Yeah you have to wear masks, and if you don’t then you’re a karen. It just sucks cause you can't see anyone and have to be socially distanced. School’s also more stressful because you have to be online all the time, and yeah it’s just worse.

Maddie: Yeah I just disappeared  for like three months. But, uhm well I have increasingly gotten more frustrated with other people. Like in soccer there are a lot of people who don't wear their masks properly and I’m like ‘really, really’, and it’s gotten a lot more bleak and I just hope this doesn’t last that much longer. 

Catherine: Uhh, confusion. I don't think my thoughts have changed, I’m not sure. 

Jason: I hate it, and I hate how people act and I hate their mindset. I would just say that- I just wish people would act differently and use their brains because there are so many people in this world that refuse to use masks and it's so simple to put one on your face. 

**Technical Problems (we did this over a Discord call)**

Nina: Do you miss school and seeing your friends?

Austin: I do. I miss seeing my friends the most.

Christine: Hell yeah, man. I really do. It's been rough because you can't see anyone because of COVID and you have to be social distance and have to find a good spot or, well you get it. And if you go to a hybrid you’re not really experiencing school. You’re only there for 2 hours and it’s not-it’s just-yeah you’re only there for two days so it’s not as good. That got really depressing. Anyways-

Catherine: Yes, I miss both. 

Jason: I-I definitely miss both. School, kinda. Friends-lemme just back up a bit. This quarantine has made me realize a lot about friendship and time. I just want to back up and spend more time with friends and cherish it.  In terms of school , I want to go back to normal in-person because I hate Peardeck and breakout rooms. 

Maddie: Of course, I miss seeing my friends and going to school. 

Nina Vermette: How has schoolwork changed for you?

Austin: I mean everything has shifted to Google Docs and Google Drive.

Jason: Peardeck.

Austin: Yeah, and there’s a lot of typing and I get really tired. I mean- I don’t mind typing but I do miss the traditional worksheets too. 

Maddie: I think it’s-it has become worse, it’s just different. There’s a lot of time online and I’ve gotten used to it, but my eyes used to burn all the time. I think Math’s the most annoying and graphing sucks, like graphing on Classkick is just bad. I also think there's a lot more throwaway assignments then there used to be. There’s a lot of other stuff such as breakout rooms, but that’s all I’ll name right now. 

Jason: It has definitely gotten more stressful and a lot harder to manage time and uhm-shoot what’s the right word-uh- 

Austin: Not procrastinate.

Jason: Yeah, and to stay on track and I feel like a lot of bad working habits have developed during this pandemic or have strengthened them, and I want to get out of them but it’s a lot harder to when you’re fully distant. 

Christine: Ewie. It’s become so stressful! Yeah, that’s basically it. It’s just more stressful because it’s all online and just, gross. 

Catherine: It’s been mostly uh-it’s all become more independent, yes. More independent. 

Nina Vermette: Did you ever expect the pandemic to last this long? What are your feelings about it?

Austin: Uhm, I definitely didn’t expect this to last a year, and I feel like things could’ve turned out better if precautions and safety measures were put out earlier. But it’s already happened and we just have to deal with it at this point. 

Catherine: Uh, I didn’t expect it at first but I feel like the way it was handled made it last longer. I’m not enjoying staying inside for so much. 

Jason: I won’t-I can’t say I expected it to last this long, knowing how long it has gone on for now I hate it and I wish the world would stop burning and start growing again. Everything’s going downhill and not uphill. The media portrays that COVID is going down and yes that’s true but everyone’s making it go back up, because people are letting their guards down and being stupid when we‘re tying to fix it. 

Christine: Ever since it started a couple months ago, I knew it would last a long time, like you know how it got longer and longer in April?

Nina: Yeah.

Christine: Yeah, so I knew it would get longer, and the people that didn’t wear masks made it worse. And the people that died, I feel bad for as well. 

Maddie: I definitely didn't think it would last this long and I don’t think it needs to last this long. Other countries are back to normal life while our country is still like this, and it’s just annoying.

Nina Vermette: What are your thoughts about those being negatively affected from COVID?

Maddie: I just feel really bad, I think in Newton in particular, we oversee that because a lot of us are privileged. And some businesses can continue to work, while others are going out of businesses and the whole Amazon thing and companies saying that they’re not going to pay people and other stuff like that. Along with other people doing stupid things. 

Jason: I just feel really bad for them because...God, homlesness has already been a big problem and I can't imagine what people without homes are going through now, how they're getting food, and how they're surviving in these harsh conditions right now. 

Catherine: The media has been covering it less, but that doesn’t mean people who are struggling with homleness, lack of food, and who are being affected by the pandemic don’t exist. And it makes me sad that we have a lot of resources and we aren’t able to cover everybody. 

Christine: It sucks man. There are people who don't care about wearing masks, because they haven't experienced losing someone to COVID and they just don’t care. There are so many people dying and it’s just awful. Frick them. 

Austin: I mean, I actually haven't met people like that since I'm home, but it must be very hard to get through it. Especially losing loved ones. COVID just came out of nowhere and took loved ones from so many people, and it’s just really sad, is all I really have to say. 

Nina: If you knew it was your last day before not seeing your friends for a year, what would you do differently?

Christine: I would have probably hugged you all before COVID started, and shouted goodbye to you too. Yeah that’s it. That’s what I would’ve done. 

Maddie: I would have hugged you guys, I would've gotten to know Catherine , because I wasn't friends with her before. I don’t know, I would have spent more time with my friends, I don't even remember what I did that day but I would’ve talked more, cherished time more, and wanted to hangout with you guys after school, something, anything. AND I would’ve taken all the stuff out of my locker, because that was an unnecessary trip I had to do. 

Austin: I would’ve gone to a restaurant and eaten some food with you guys. 

Catherine: Umm, I think I would’ve tried to enjoy talking to you guys more, and cherish the time with you. 

Jason: I would go to the mall with everyone, I really would. I would drag everyone to the mall if I had too. I don't know, I would really spend time with everyone in person and forget every argument and just go out with you guys.

Christine: Your mom wouldn’t let you..

Jason: I’d sneak out. 

Nina: How has the pandemic changed you as a person?

Austin: I’m more lazy because I’m at home. There's not much homework, so I don't have a lot of work to do after school. But yeah-I’m just lazy. I’m also not moving around as much, but yeah, I’m just more lazy. 

Christine: I’m more lazy. *laughs* I'm lazier. 

Jason: I think the pandemic has made me understand society, and in dark terms, I thought the world was bright when the pandemic started and now people are rejecting new ideas and becoming darker, and I don’t want that to happen to the world. 

Maddie: I think I’ve grown a lot, I’ve had more time to self reflect, but I feel like I’m too-I’m too in touch with my brain. But it’s definitely changed me- it’s kind of a traumatic experience but yes, it’s changed me. 

Catherine: I think it gave me more time to think about who I am…..oh God, mom you just went yeet. 

(Note: Catherine was playing a game with Maddie at this time. She also refers to Maddie as “Mom”. Why? I’m not sure.)

Nina: Okay-that’s all the questions, thank you so much for doing this. 

Jason: Well, it was for your English project so, sure!

Maddie: No problem.

Christine: Let’s gooooo!

Austin: Okay, I'm going to go watch my Chinese dramas now, bye bye.

Catherine: Yayyyy!

**End Scene**

 (Blooper:)

Nina: Okay, final question, how has the pandemic changed you as a person?

Jason: It had-wait, why am I blanking? I need to think about this for two minutes. Wait something along the lines of  it made me understand parts of society and parts-oh sh!t. It made me understand society and the people better, I guess?

***

Note: This was really hard to make ‘dramatic’ because there were 6 best friends in a singular voice call and it was just overall chaos. There were some moments where we got off track but I cut most of those out in an attempt to make a more dramatic/serious scene. Overall, this was really fun to make and I would do another assignment like this if given the chance. 

Also, I didn’t know if we were supposed to write stage directions, I just tried to follow the format that was used in the Laramie Project, so that’s why I didn’t include any. 

Additionally, some of the quotes weren’t as good and sorry about some repeating, there weren’t a whole lot of differing conflicts or dialogue, it was mostly just things about Matthew and so on. 

Moment: Breaking News

JB: I was standing in...let's see that was 2013...and I walked from my house down to Cleveland Circle, and I always go, you know, a couple hours into it because I don't want to see the elite runners, I want to see the regular runners, and it was pretty crowded. We were standing there cheering on the runners, and all of a sudden there were no runners. 

NARRATOR: JB, local pediatrician and marathon viewer:

JB: So it was really weird like they weren't on the street, and they were just being cleared out. Everybody's looking around and someone said, the race was canceled. A policeman came by and said go home, the race, the race is off. And then someone said, there's been a bombing.

DR: We were in Florida, actually Disney World, and we were at the pool at the Beach Club, and we started hearing all these people saying something about Boston, and something about a bombing, and we had no idea what they were talking about.

NARRATOR: DR, Newton resident on vacation: 

DR: It was spring break, so mostly people from Boston were in Florida at that time because New York has a different vacation schedule. So there were a ton of people from Boston at the pool, and we just all started checking our phones. We were all wondering what was going on, and then went back to the hotel rooms, turned on the TV and watched the news.

JB: I was in shock.

CA: I noticed that like, all of a sudden, people weren't running anymore. And we looked at Comm Ave, and people were like cleared out. And so we came home and turned on the TV. And we saw what had happened.

NARRATOR: That was CA, Newton resident.

MW: I was actually home that day. I had planned on running, but instead I had gone out and cheered on some of my friends. I was supposed to pace a friend of mine, for the marathon, but her training just hadn't gone well. 

NARRATOR: MW, teacher and marathon runner:

MW: So I went and cheered for a while. And then I actually was at home. And I ended up, I think, getting a text from a friend who was running and I can't remember who it was, I mean, it's eight years ago, good grief. But I remember getting a text saying, Oh my God, you know, something happened.

RW: They knew that there was an explosion at this point, they didn't know it was a bombing or what it was, but that there were a number of casualties, and that the location was relatively close to my hospital. 

NARRATOR: Emergency Room doctor, RW, MD:

RW: So I just hopped back in my car and drove back into the hospital. I was there before the first patients arrived.

Moment: Reactions

CA: Um, it was...it was an anxious time, I think. And so I guess the marathon bombing was on a Monday, right. And then it was all kind of wrapped up Friday evening. So I guess during the week, it was anxious, but we also still just went about our plans. Like I still went to Cambridge and took the kids to meet up with friends from their preschool. And, you know, we still did everything like normal, but it was, it was anxiety provoking.

MW: I remember being really mad, um, followed by really sad. I mean, I know that those are two very plain, basic emotions, but I remember like, really just anger. If you're a long distance runner, the Boston Marathon is one of the like, it's one of the sacred marathons, if not the most sacred one. I mean, there are other major marathons throughout the world and other big marathons throughout the world, but Boston has somewhat of a mystique about it. It's the one that every marathoner wants to eventually qualify for or run, you know, and there, there's an aura about the Boston Marathon that is, is I hesitate to use the word magical but like there's a magical aspect to it. And so for me, there was just a lot of anger that anybody would attack it.

JB: When they made everybody go home and I started walking back, I remember there was, there was this surreal quiet.

Moment: Procedures

NARRATOR: RW: 

RW: It's sort of like a standard play when you're faced with a multiple casualty incident. Emergency departments, particularly at two, three o'clock are already pretty full, so it's a little bit like you know, you have incoming planes on a carrier, you've got to clear the deck, you also have to organize the department to have the manpower to be able to deal with it. And you have to set it up in a way that avoids...tries to minimize the chaos that's going to occur, because a lot of things happen at the same time, and can turn a well run emergency department into a complete mess. 

So the first thing we did is, you know, we basically said, take a look at all your patients, anybody that needs to be admitted to the hospital where the workups are in progress, but probably should be in the hospital, let's just send them up. Now, the people who have workups going, that don't have anything urgent can wait. We have to just try to clear as much space as we can, because we just don't know how many patients are coming. 

The second thing we did to prepare the emergency department, because we were already very quickly guessing that this had the flavor of a terrorist attack, is getting security to do what they do, which is secure the area. In the terrorist playbook, very often health care centers are the secondary targets because that really truly creates a sense of terror, chaos and fear, you know, on the scale, which is what terrorists are aiming for. 

Finally, the hospital kicked in the command center, which is something that's not out in the emergency department, but sort of coordinates, getting the operating rooms ready, making sure you have enough beds, making sure somebody is prepared to deal with the press. And that sort of issue. So that all got set up in about 30 minutes.

Moment:Shut Down

NARRATOR: JB:

JB: Newton Center was completely empty. Now I mean, empty like people were in no stores, no gas stations, nobody was in the parking lot, it was empty. It was the most surreal experience. I can't remember, before or since. An experience like that. So basically the city shut down for at least 24 hours. Maybe it was more than that I don't know until they caught the guy. And I remember taking Bo for a walk, and there was nobody, nobody on the street, no cars. 

CA: I had done no food shopping all week and I had planned to do all my food shopping that morning. We had like no food and then we also, you know, had a dog who really needed his walks in the morning. And so it was, you know, scary. But it was also like, very, very inconvenienced about how long we had to stay in shelter in place.

DR: It was traumatic to see something happening in Boston and, you know, hearing of all the events when the lockdown happened, and they actually found the guy the bomber in Watertown, and he and his brother had been in Cambridge, Memorial Drive at a gas station. These were all places that we drive by and we lived in Cambridge and went to that gas station so although we were away, it felt so close to home because all the images on the news were all our restaurants and all our gas stations, it was everything we do.

CA: I think that when we were finally allowed out, nobody else was out. It was only people who had to walk their dogs and the only sound we could hear was the helicopters over Watertown. 

JB:  It was almost post-apocalyptic.

Moment: Boston Strong

NARRATOR: DR:

DR: On one hand, it brought people closer, you know? Boston Strong was really a big deal. When the lockdowns happened. And they caught the brothers, it was like, everybody was in it together. Everyone was off the streets, everyone stayed in shelter in place. And when the police went, and they found them so quickly and everything resolved so quickly, the FBI, you know, figured out who it was they put it on the news. There was a lot of pride that everyone kind of had come together. And then afterwards as the stories came out about all the doctors, you know, where the bombing took place was so close to all the hospitals in Boston that there were a lot of medical professionals, right there at the scene and they said, that's a lot of the reasons why people so many people survived, even though people had, you know, terrible problems.

Moment: Heroes

DR: There are all these stories of people who, you know a lot of people you think run away from danger, but some people were running in to help. Like there is this famous story about the guy in a cowboy hat, who, who came and put a tourniquet around an injured guy’s leg, I think it was Jeff Bauman, who lost his legs in the bombings, but this guy ran in there to help save him and rushed him into a wheelchair to an ambulance. I feel that for years, we used to go to a lot of Red Sox games, and they would bring out a lot of the heroes, and a lot of the victims who had survived. And it seemed...They just became part of the Boston community and it was really a powerful time. And then the Red Sox won the World Series and it was also just a really powerful thing.

RW: I had a number of my physicians, who were actually at the scene of the marathon bombing, because they've been manning the healthcare tents, we occasionally will offer that service to big events. So they were there, when the bomb went off, they went running in to help knowing that a secondary device could be there, to pull patients out. And they all needed, basically, counseling afterwards. Psychiatric help, because that's where you get Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, because you're in a, in a chaotic environment, where you really have no idea what's going to happen, or what's going on. Whereas by the time they get to the emergency department, the whole idea is to take that off and filter it into something that will work inside the healthcare system to make sure, you know, you try to prevent as many deaths as possible.

Moment: Running Then and in the Future

MW: I did have other friends, like the woman who I was supposed to pace. You know, the way she found out is that, you know, she had to be at, I think at mile marker, 21. She was like, she was about five, six miles back. And they stopped her. And they just said that, you know, sorry, you can't keep going. They just stopped her. And that was, you know, that's kind of freaky, like, freaky is the only word that I can come up with right now. Because it's like, how, what could possibly happen to actually make a, you know, a marathon of some 30,000 people stop. She said it was a very surreal experience. And then they, they just kind of stood there for a very long time. And then they just kind of all trickled away.

NARRATOR: Had MW been pacing this woman, they would have crossed the finish line around the time of the bombing. 

MW: Before the bombing, you were allowed to just...bring a backpack full of stuff that you were going to need at the end of the race. But um, after after the bombing, you weren't allowed to bring your own bag, you had to use a clear bag that could be inspected. You know, and that clear bag was only about, like, you know, this big (demonstrates with his hands), so really, you know, you could fit in a fresh pair of socks and a bottle of Gatorade and maybe a snack and that's it. So it was definitely stricter, and it didn't necessarily feel safer or better. Because I mean, ultimately, if some really bad person wanted to do something like the security that they had felt more like theater than anything else. But you know, I, I understand why they were doing it, it made sense.

Moment: In the Game

RW: How can I express it? So it was not my first rodeo for a sort of forced rodeo from a mass casualty standpoint. It's what we have, in a lot of ways, trained to do. And what happens, it's just like in a very critical resuscitation, one mistake and you can lose the patient. And in a problem solving mode, you're not really thinking much more than what am I missing? What's the next thing I need to take care of, and basically, putting things in place, and then when the patients start to hit, moving around quickly to make sure no balls are being dropped, that you know, there aren't errors being made. And that, you know, you're you're just trying to anticipate the next 5, 10 minutes. It's a little bit like the sports thing, one game at a time. So you're in the game when you're preparing a little bit so that you'll be ready for the next stage at any moment. 

Moment: Priorities

NARRATOR: The elder of the two Boston Bombers died on the way to the hospital, the other was brought into the Emergency Room with several gunshot wounds and survived. RW, doctor in this emergency department:

MAYA ROTTENBERG: What was your experience having to take care of the Boston Bombers?

RW: I'll, I'll tell you, honestly. So, um, we knew that things were going out. And again, when we heard that there was a shooting in Watertown, which was, you know, when we got the elder brother first, again, I can't even remember if I was in the hospital, because I pretty much been staying on and off in the hospital throughout the lockdown, and not going home much. A couple of our providers, particularly some of them who have just recently cared for a lot of the victims had curious mixed feelings. While we were caring for the younger brother, the elder brother was basically dead on arrival, but some nurses were sort of thinking that these are the guys that did this horrible thing. Honestly, again, I've been in emergency medicine for 40 years, I've taken care of murderers, you know, taking care of some pretty horrendous people. As a doctor, you don't pass judgment, you're you're in a professional role. And your job is ‘your patient is your priority’ and that it doesn't matter what they've done before, or what sort of, you know, judgment, you suspend all judgment, and you focus on doing what you're supposed to do, which is trying to save them. So I have to say, I mean, I think more the seasoned veterans, it doesn't happen. You don't treat, let's say the most horrendous people any different than you would treat, you know, the complete innocent. And you don't feel or even think about it. 

Moment: Final Words

JB: It was an unforgettable moment. It was scary.

DR: But it also brought Boston together.