London

The alarm goes off here in our house at 6:45am. From a quarter of the way around the world, the news announcer informs me that chaos reigns in the subways and roads of London England. Subways, busses, many injuries and deaths. Casualties as a result of simultaneously executed explosions, immediate statements of knowledge that that this is a terrorist attack, but no one knows the source: I ponder jokingly if it is IRA, Al-Qaeda, Pissed Off Parisians Furious Over Losing Olympics (POPFOLO, the new terror nightmare network in Europe).

I hit snooze.

Drifting between awake and asleep, I slowly begin to surface, wondering if what I heard was right. The alarm goes off again, nine minutes later (like clockwork, imagine that) and this time they're talking to a legislator about the crappy sex offender laws here in the Commonwealth.

I get out of bed. I start the coffee.

The TV is turned on. The local news shows Michael Chilkis being interviewed by the guy who is usually in the helicopter telling me that traffic sucks (duh) through Boston. He is talking about being The Thing in the new Fantastic Four movie, which looks to me as if it might suck beyond belief. But they are not mentioning London or bombings or anything. Another station has weather. Another is talking about how London was just granted the 2012 Olympics, but no mention of the bombings.

But at the bottom of the screen I see a statement that Tony Blair will be doing a press conference. No one does a press conference for no particular reason. I feel the fog begin to clear from my mind as I do what I normally don't -- I turn to FoxNews. And there are the pictures, and reporters with beautiful thick accents. There is London, and it is true.

Just yesterday I made a comment to a coworker that I was glad London had been granted the Olympics instead of Paris, because they have better security there. And I believed it would be a safer venue for visitors and travelers.

I spoke too soon.

I feel awful this morning. I feel like crying. I hope the Londoners I read are okay, that they are safe and their loved ones are safe. I hope that the answers can be found quickly as to what the source is here. Not that it matters. The fact of the matter is safety is once again taken for granted. And it is a sad, grey day.