Carol Shea-Porter: “Thank you very much for having this moment, an opportunity to talk about Boston and also to talk about the country and…”

“Thank you very much for having this moment, an opportunity to talk about Boston and also to talk about the country and to talk about Boston's neighbor, New Hampshire. On that day, like so many others, I had a family member whose brother-in-law was running in that race and he was running because his father had died of cancer. And so many people were running for causes that day. Fortunately, the family is fine, but some families were devastated beyond belief. You know, Boston is a small city, but it's a great city; and New Hampshire is a small State, but it's a great State. And so what happens to Boston and what happens to Massachusetts is felt deeply in New Hampshire. You see, we work together, we play together, and we attend events together. We also grieve together. And so when that call came to New Hampshire, when Boston reached out and asked our police forces to help, the answer from a Nashua SWAT team member was, of course we can. The answer from the Manchester SWAT team--Manchester, New Hampshire-- was, yes, and they were on their way. The answer from the Seacoast Emergency Response Team, SERT, that has officers from 11 different seacoast communities was, yes; and the answer from the New Hampshire State Police SWAT and the explosives disposal unit was, yes, we'll be there. They understood the danger, but they also understood that they were needed and they didn't hesitate. And the stories coming from that experience are very moving.…”