'Mommy, I Cannot Believe I Was Part of a Terrorist Attack'

The following is a firsthand account from North Kingstown resident Debbie Augenstein, who was in Boston on April 15 during the Boston Marathon bombing.

I was at the marathon yesterday with my daughter, Amy Augenstein, who is a sophomore at North Kingstown High School and her friend Madeline Lamarre and Maddy’s mother Libby Lamarre.  We were there looking for a prom dress, not really to watch the marathon. 

We took the commuter rail out of Wickford at 9:10 a.m. in order to avoid the traffic. Once there, we were taken in by the marathon, watching from windows from Lord and Taylors which was right at the finish line.  I actually took a picture out of that window of the runners and posted it on Facebook about 1 hour or so before the explosion. 

We then went to have lunch at the Mandarin Oriental which was about two uildings down on the same side as the first explosion.  We had just finished lunch and the girls decided to go shopping in the Prudential Center.  

Five minutes later, we heard the first explosion which was not that loud and a little distant.  No one said anything to each other, but we were all thinking, "Gee, what was that?" Within 15 seconds, the second bomb went off right across the street and it was very loud. 

You immediately knew that something was not right. 

As I turned around, people immediately began to pour into the restaurant to get away from the scene. Chairs were flying, glasses were breaking.  Libby and I looked at each other with fear in our faces, grabbed our belongings (barely) and headed out to find our daughters. 

By the grace of God, my daughter had enough sense to return to where we were and we met very quickly.  The girls were horrified.  They had heard and pretty much saw the explosion. 

We immediately exited the Prudential and walked directly to the train station.  I went directly to the Amtrak window and asked when the next train to Providence was.  The employees at Amtrak had no idea what had just happened.  She said 3:20.  It was 3:04.  The bomb went off at 2:50.  I said I need four tickets.  We very quickly went to the track, boarded the train and were back in Providence within 45 minutes. 

As we all watched the footage that night and the following morning, we are all extremely grateful to be alive.  Feeling very blessed today.  My daughter said to me last night, "Mommy, I cannot believe I was part of a terrorist attack."  It certainly is a different world we live in today.

Were you in Boston during the bombings? Share your story with us by emailing northkingstown@patch.com.