London Burning

I wouldn’t have found out about the attacks had a friend not emailed his sympathies this morning. Reading the stories and seeing the pictures on the BBC’s website caused me to start crying so that I had to go outside for some fresh air. Also, I hoped to call some of my friends—not that I’m worried about most of them, but I needed to hear their voices.

Of course, all the mobile networks are down. I was able to get through to one friend who lives outside London, and just hearing his accent calmed me. Much like when the same friend eloped to Moldova a few months ago, I feel extremely isolated right now. The phone lines being down coupled with the time difference makes email the only route, but that only works if people check it. Luckily, I’ve already heard back from two friends and my old boss. Thank god we live in such modern times; I can’t imagine what it would be like otherwise.

I can, of course, imagine what the British people are going through, having been through sometime quite similar a few years ago. The madness of it all—the indiscrimination—and the pure and unadulterated sorrow and chaos it causes are unbearable. What is there to do for me except make sure each and every one of my British friends knows I’m thinking of them. In large-scale tragedies it always comes down to making sure your particular loved ones are all okay. Luckily for me, my friends seem to be doing all right. My thoughts go out to those whose loved ones won’t be returning from work tonight.