Departure PDX

It is 1:40pm Pacific Time and Alex and I are still sitting in the airport. Some bad weather coming through the Gulf has delayed the flight till 2:19pm, but we are not the only ones delayed; all the Dallas flights are delayed. Perhaps more unnerving is the news that was first brought to my attention this morning as I was sleeping. My best friend called me after hearing a news report of some recent terrorist attacks in London. If you heard the news, they have now counted 700 wounded. Most likely though, because of today's media, you have been bombarded with images of chaos and carnage, so I won't be adding to that sensationalism. We were originally going to take the underground from Paddington to Victoria, but have since found an alternate route direct from Gatwick. Nevertheless, I am still a tad spooked about the whole ordeal. So far no one I know from over there has been injured. I was happy to see that the London authorities had prepared for such an incident, and were able to respond so quickly. DAC Brian Paddock is my new hero right now; in the press conference, he answered questions with great responsibiltiy and wisdom. There was even one point where he corrected a reporter for associating the attacks with Islam, saying that from what he knows of the religion, it does not support these kinds of acts and should not be assumed so. They got a quote from Bush, but it wasn't very informed or encouraging; just more of the bland general statement he makes about freedom and teRRor and staying the course; they are so empty--we are boarding now.