why today - london, 7/7/05

I listen to "Coast to Coast AM" on the radio when I go to bed at night. If you're into paranormal, supernatural, UFOs, etc., it's THE talk show to listen to. The host is intelligent and open-minded, the guests usually interesting if not entertaining, and the bumper music is great stuff.

Unfortunately, listening to "Coast" at night means I wake up in the morning to an obnoxious conservative local talk show host who rants and raves about things he only knows or discloses half the facts about, and like all conservative talk show hosts, he gets his listeners all riled up about things they only know half the facts about, and pretty soon it's all taken as gospel truth. Oh well, at least I get to know how the other half thinks, and I smile and shake my head and occasionally yell at the radio while I'm getting dressed for work.

This morning I woke up expecting to hear another amazingly insightful declaration from aforesaid talk show host . . . but instead heard him saying something about explosions, and subways, and buses . . . and I immediately became more alert. Then I listened in horror as he said it took place in London.

Ordinarily a terrorist attack across the ocean would make me be concerned, but not horrified. But today was different. Today two people - a friend who visited me in Florida from NYS only a month ago, and her teenage daughter - were either in London or heading there, a stopover on their return to the U.S. from a missionary trip to Kenya. I turned on the TV to try to learn more, but as news reporters are prone to say at such a time, details were sketchy but there were casualties and deaths.

I was a little nervous and anxious. I debated; do I try to call their house in NY to see what her husband knows, if he's home, or do I wait and call their church's office to find out exactly where they were on their trip. I reluctantly decided to wait and when I got to work made the call to the church. I was relieved to hear that the mission team had arrived at Heathrow before the attack and were all okay. I thanked the woman, and after hanging up the phone blinked back a few tears of relief.

Later this afternoon, my friend's husband sent an e-mail providing more details: "The mission team arrived in London about 6:45 this morning. They were on their way from Heathrow airport to their hotel when the terrorist bombs went off. They were forced to evacuate the subway, about 7 stops from their destination. Don't have any idea how far away that is, just that it's much too far to walk. They were not on one of the bombed trains as far as I know. I think the authorities simply shut down the whole system and evacuated everybody. Everyone on the team (all 17 of them) is OK. Thank God. They've managed to find lodging for the night, but they have not been able to reach their intended hotel. Pray for their continued safety."

I am angry that extremists think nothing of murdering innocent people. I am angry that two people coming back from a trip they made halfway around the world to help people less fortunate than they, people they didn't even know, were placed in harm's way by these insane monsters. I was impressed with Tony Blair's harsh statements against the terrorists. I am against the war in Iraq but I am totally for shutting down terrorism, and until President Bush sees the Iraqi war and the "war" on terrorism as two different things, innocent people will continue to die.

Please pray for Kathleen and Maddie's safe and speedy return to the United States and to their families.