This morning someone is sitting at their kitchen table saying,

"I waited on him at the grocery store."

Or perhaps,

"I sat next to him the other day at Dunkin Donuts."

It would be far better if people with the propensity for evil and destruction had a little sign on their forehead that proclaimed for all to see that this was a monster. For all to stay away.

I think that this is the one thing that terrifies me the most. The fact that they can blend in with the everyday people so well. I am sure he doesn't stand out in a crowd. He's pretty average looking. He doesn't even look mean. He looks average.

One of my favorite quotes used to be:

"Strangers are only friends we haven't met yet."

I hate that I can no longer say that. I hate to tell my grandchildren that strangers are potential killers, potential bombers, or potential terrorists.

When my children were little, I always told them never to talk to strangers. Even 30 years ago we taught our kids that. But then it was because something bad could happen to them. Now it is because the stranger could leave a mother without her son, a wife without her husband or a family without their dad. And all in the same week.

There is no guaranteed safe place in the world, I know. There are no more "Mayberry RFD's" anymore. There are bad things happening to good people in the big cities all the way down to the remote country village.

Should we be fearful of every stranger that moves in next door? Should we shy away from anyone we don't know? I don't think that's the answer. I think we need to take a step backwards in time. Backwards to the days when we knew the guy next door. The woman up the street. We need to start connecting again. I, myself have lived in this apartment for 8 years and don't know the people next door to the right of me. I am sure they are lovely people but between my work, my family and everything else that goes on, I haven't taken the time.

Maybe if we stop and take a moment to know who lives around us, we will know who the disgruntled are. We will know who hates our government. We will have a sense of the good guy and the bad.

I think we need to be more aware of who's who in our neighborhoods.

We can't just keep closing out doors thinking we are safe within our surroundings. We can't leave everything up to the police. We need to start getting back to basics. With any luck, the vast majority of us will find new friends. At the very least, we would know who is living next door.

I am not saying that the blame lies anywhere but with the men that did this, but we need to be more aware. Later...

Later,
Cosmic