‘M’ stands for May and Mayhem

On April 15, 2013, the Boston Marathon was disrupted by two consecutive explosions on the sidewalk near the finish line, killing three spectators and injuring 264 others. The bombings received widespread international media attention. The first thought on the minds of many Canyon Lakers after the bombings was whether they knew anyone there. Many in Canyon Lake’s running community did know someone there: Stephen Bustos, then president of the Fitness and Triathlon Club.

This was Stephen’s third consecutive year to participate in the prestigious event; he was in Boston with his wife and daughter, Kolfinna and Melkorka, who ran in the Boston Freedom Trail 5K Sunday morning.

Running his personal best, Stephen says he finished the marathon an hour before the explosions took place. He met his family near the finish line and they returned to their hotel before the incident occurred.

It wasn’t until one of their friends called to see if they were okay that the Bustos turned on their TV and learned about the blasts. Soon they were caught up in aftermath.

“Boston was locked down for the most part after the explosions. Mass transit was shut down. Even our hotel was locked down,” Stephen said in an article for The Friday Flyer. He did his best to calm his wife’s and daughter’s fears. They wanted badly to leave Boston but he had to explain that they couldn’t leave the city.

“We were all in shock. It felt like we were in a war zone,” he says. “There were helicopters, policemen, firemen and even the army working furiously to retake the city.” A frightening thought was that Kofinna had stood at the very location of the bomb blast during the previous year’s marathon.

This next series in The Friday Flyer’s reader survey is to learn whether anyone else in the community has been close to a major event that could be categorized as “mayhem.” Mayhem is something chaotic, disorderly or tumultuous. Examples are the Oklahoma City Bombing, Hurricane Katrina, the 1989 ‘World Series Quake” in San Francisco or the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, school shootings, or any other national or international incident or natural disaster reported in the media. Residents who were eye-witnesses to such news-making events are invited to respond to this survey.

“Mayhem” submissions will be accepted through the month of May. Please answer these questions by email at news@goldingpublications.com or bring this form into the office in the Towne Center. Photos are welcome.

‘M’ stands for May and Mayhem