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Hello Hillsboro: Did terrorists wake a sleeping giant?
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Last week’s television coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing was among the most gripping news stories ever reported. Certainly not up to the 9-11 horror when you figure in the awful numbers of lives lost, but the film and video search, shoot out, and eventual capture of the remaining terrorist was breath taking to say the least.

The ratings of the cable television news shows must have gone through the roof, and deservedly so! It was hard to even switch from one channel to another as the on-going story cost many folks some sleep.

One thing an old news hound like me found very noticeable. It once again put a spotlight on the value of the 24-hour news reporting by both cable television and on-line journalists.

By the time a daily newspaper reached a subscriber, all the featured news was old news, and already completely digested by the reader long before arriving in newsprint form.

Of course, many editorials were still important, as were analytical news stories putting the rapid-fire events into perspective. But the daily newspapers just can’t compete on breaking stories anymore and are doing their best to find a new niche for their share of the news hungry public.

Print media still has a solid refuge in local news and sports coverage, where they are able to provide interesting reporting and photos that larger operations “can’t be bothered with!’

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Many folks found a huge silver lining that developed when the crowd realized that the incredible efforts of the combined emergency and police personnel had brought the crisis to an acceptable ending with that amazing capture in a boat being stored in a Watertown neighborhood backyard.

That outcome would not have survived an editor’s pen in a fictional Hollywood script!

I felt that if we opened our front door we would have been able to hear the appreciative cheers coming all the way from Boston!

When was the last time you saw so many civilians cheering police officers and other first responders as they eventually left the scene in a giant caravan of vehicles? Some of them were giving thumbs up and fist pumps to the thrilled sea of faces that lined the streets in an unforgettable tribute to their real-life “heroes.”

Remember that heart-felt salute the next time you get a driving ticket!

It continued into the night as impromptu rallies broke out throughout the Boston area, especially on college campuses. Thousands of voices proclaimed “USA, USA,USA” loud enough to send an unforgettable message to terrorists and wannabe terrorists all over the world.

It was one of the most spontaneous eruptions of joy I have ever seen. Just watching the TV screen brought a sense of pride in being an American, and it, no doubt, also worried some bad actors overseas, that they just may have woken up the proverbial “sleeping giant!”

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On a needed humorous note, here’s another actual message printed in a church bulletin:

Miss Charlene Mason sang “I Will Not Pass This Way Again,” giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.