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The world today

I just had an interesting conversation with a taxi driver.  He asked me where I was from and I gave him my default answer:  New Jersey, which is right outside New York.  Mind you, with the bad rep Jersey has, I'm always tempted to just say NY. Other days when I'm not in the mood for the whole American thing, I'm also tempted to say Canada, but I'm an American Jersey girl through and through and never deny either.  I digress...

The taxi driver told me he was in NYC a month after 9/11.  His trip was planned for months before and they would have lost their money if they can celled.  Since NYC was probably the safest place in the world at that time, they decided to go.  He told me he went to ground zero.  I told him I've never been and that the 2 weeks I spent in front of the TV was always enough for me.  I still have never been.  I said it must have been a surreal place to be 4 weeks later, but it was also a good time to visit the States because it was a time that America was at it's best.  I'd  elaborate on that statement, but I don't feel it's really necessary.

One of the reasons I've never been to ground zero is because after it happened, I kinda shied away from public transportation.  To be honest, I still think twice every time I step on a train or an airplane.  I was in NJ for 9/11 and here for 7/7 so I can't help to be a little scared every time I take any sort of mass transit.  Wayne says you can't live your life like that.  I say, it doesn't stop me.  I do it anyway, but I can't help to have it cross my mind.  We went to the US Embassy in London a few weeks ago and that was unnerving too.  It just doesn't leave you.  The world today is a different place.

I've heard British people say that nothing changed for them on 9/11 that with the IRA, the people here have been dealing with terrorism for a long time.  But I don't think that's true.  I think things changed for people all over the world.  The world today is a different place and no matter what your nationality, I think we all look around at the people near by when we're on a train, subway, bus or airplane.  The thing is, we just don't know what we're looking for.

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