December 1, 2015 - Paris Attacks

December 1, 2015 -

 

This is a posting by Mark Scheel, President of Digital Construction, about the events of November 13, 2015 in Paris, France.

 

It's Thanksgiving time in America and I have a lot to be thankful for, even if I had to watch my beloved New England Patriots suffer a fourth quarter and overtime meltdown in person at the hands of the Denver Broncos this past Sunday night.

 

I recently returned from France. I had a great time giving the Keynote at Droidcon Paris (or is it Droidcon France, I still haven't figured that out), and I hung out for the rest of the week in Paris on vacation and enjoyed the people, the sights and especially the food.

 

I stayed near Parc De La Villette in the Northeast quadrant of Paris in the 19th arrondissement. Many nights I came to the center of the city, to visit the Eiffell Tower, Notre Dame and other sights. One morning I went for a jog outside of Paris at the palace that preceded Versailles. Point is, I got around a lot, Metro and Uber were great facilitators.

 

On Friday night November 13, 2015 something tragic happened. Terrorists attacked Paris at multiple locations. It was the largest terrorist attack in French history and it targeted public places where people go out.

 

When these attacks happened I was at the Louvre, a very public place! I had arrived at 8PM, and was asked to leave--early it turned out--around 9:30PM while intently trying to find one last Picasso. Still unaware of the attacks I took an Uber to a restaurant in Le Marais, a neighborhood--I later discovered--where many of the attacks were taking place.

 

I finally understood what was happening at the restaurant (third choice of the evening, Les Arts & Metiers), although it wsan't until much later that I realized I was less than a mile from several restaurants that had been targeted.

 

They closed the restaurant early and I walked with a group back towards Parc De La Villette, taking a longer route because the straight line would have passed several restaurant shooting locations. The metro was closed at this point for safety reasons..

 

There were a lot of sirens and I lent my phone to a crying woman, but overall most folks were pretty calm and since I didn't know much of what was going on, I was calm also. I had already messaged important people telling them there might be news out of Paris and I was safe. I was warmed by those who messaged me, thank you if you are reading this!

 

I stopped at a bar near Gare De L'Est and hung out with some folks from the soccer game where the first attack took place. They had kids with them and were very calm too. One of the older men remarked about the 80's when attacks were more common (albeit on a smaller scale). I bought them a round of drinks on America and we had a good time exchanging stories.

 

Eventually the police stormed the Bataclan concert venue and the results were on the TV. My new friends translated the results for me. I walked home, arriving after 2AM.

 

The next day I unsuccessfully tried to complete a scheduled volunteer activity at a shelter. Instead I biked around the city for hours. For less than 2 dollars you can rent a city bike in Paris for 24 hours. It was a lovely fall day and kids were playing in the streets and people were out shopping (despite the news reports I read when I got back to America). There was a sadness in the air but also a strong sense of community and a strength of purpose to not be afraid.

 

This was no more evident than dinner Saturday night which can only be described as boisterous. The restaurant was packed and people were drinking and in great spirits, locals and foreigners together.

 

I am heartbroken for those who lost friends and family in Paris, and other locations like Lebanon and all around the world recently. Yet I remain resolute that humans are fundamentally good. I saw this time and time again in these travels as I have all over the world and in America during my life. There were kindnesses small and large everywhere I turned.

 

I have much to be thankful for this time of year, and hope you do also.

 

Best,

 

Mark

 

 

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