Sound Bites

My husband woke me up at 1:00 a.m. to tell me that Osama Bin Laden was dead. The first thing I could think to say was "Was he in a cave?"

Just as there was no escaping coverage of the royal wedding last Friday, today there was no escaping coverage of the death of Bin Laden. And just as the royal wedding brought back memories of events 30 years ago, today's news brought back memories of events nearly 10 years ago. I think most Americans remember where they were when they first heard of the terrorist attacks. Not only do I remember hearing about the attacks, but I also remember where I was when I heard the name of an acquaintance being read when a newscaster listed those aboard Flight 93, which went down in Shanksville, PA.

I've been listening to NPR all day, and as the news sinks in, certain sound bites keep repeating in my mind..."justice with a bullet"..."now we can put aside last week's Donald Trump nonsense and focus on serious issues"..."we've cut off the head of the snake"..."a time for somber relief." I've been thinking a lot today about "justice," "retaliation," "revenge," and "celebration." I've been thinking about the people who died on September 11 as well as all of the people who've died in the wars we've been fighting since then. This thought provoking article articulates some of my thoughts better than I can.