A college student slept late.
Even at MIT, that wouldn’t be news. But on Monday, the day of the Boston Marathon bombing, sleeping late meant former Kinston resident Wegene Tadele didn’t make it to his volunteer assignment with the marathon.
Instead, the junior — studying electrical engineering and physics — went to the library to study. It was a nice day, he said — one of the few sunny days recently in the area. It was at the library that he heard the bombing.
“The campus is really quiet, now,” Tadele said in a phone interview on Tuesday. “People are really sad and shocked.”
MIT’s Green Building, facing Boston across the Charles River in Cambridge, lit up its windows in the colors of the American flag Monday night.
Tadele said it wasn’t something you’re ready for, especially with his experience with people being friendly and welcoming in Boston.
Kinston attorney Jimbo Perry, who opened his home to the Ethiopian native when Tadele was a junior at Arendell Parrott Academy, echoed the same.
“You know, being from the South, sometimes we think we have a corner, down here, on hospitality,” Perry said. “But our experience in Boston has been — you know, it is an extraordinarily friendly place, and people are so proud of their city.”
In response to the bombing, Tadele said Boston-area residents have stepped up.
“People are really hopeful and people are just helping each other, providing comfort and also accommodations to those who needed it,” Tadele said. “It’s really important that people get help, because (public) transportation halted after the explosion, because there were further suspicions that there would be bombs on (public) transportation.”
Tadele mentioned an online hub where area residents and stranded bombing victims have connected since the explosions. Writing in Slate, Will Oremus said a public Google document led to people giving of their homes, spare beds and a pet or two to play with.
By Tuesday afternoon, Oremus wrote, more than 5,500 people in the Boston area added their names and what they had to offer to the spreadsheet.
“Who knows how many people took them up on it, if any,” Oremus wrote. “Clearly the supply of generosity exceeded the demand. But that doesn’t matter. For anyone tempted to question the goodness of humanity in the wake of a very public act of pure hatred, the list is a salve in itself.”
Back in Kinston, Perry said his family was immediately concerned about Tadele’s condition. Perry said he knew the accomplished student to be punctual and socially involved and thought Tadele might be with other students, helping out at the marathon.
After four hours, the family was able to make contact. Perry said he feels blessed for Tadele’s safety, but sad for so many who, by circumstance, became victims of Monday’s attack.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.