I live fairly near the airport in St. Louis. Not right by it, but close enough that the dull rumble of airplanes taking off and landing is a fairly normal occurrence. It has been very strange the last day and a half not hearing any airplanes at all or seeing any in the sky. As I sat at my computer a few moments ago, it suddenly dawned on me that I was hearing a jet engine. And, I hate to admit, it scared the hell out of me. My heart started beating a mile a minute.* I ran outside but couldn't see the plane or any lights in the midnight sky. It didn't sound like a commercial jet, probably military traffic leaving the airport which has an Air National Guard contingent. Nothing to worry about, right? Perfectly normal. So why was I shaking? How could this happen? Why should the sound of an airplane in the night (it's about midnight here in the American midwest) frighten me so? The world did indeed change in the last two days... There goes another one! My heart still hasn't stopped hammering in my chest. I don't want this. I don't want to live in this strange, terrifying new world that was created at 8:45 a.m. yesterday morning. But there's no going back, huh? I guess the only thing we can do is continue on and try to beat back that fear. Can't let the bastards win, right? I just wish it didn't have to be so. - John (* Sorry, Alberto, 1.6 km a minute.)
