Sympathy and Respect to London

I've had the pleasure of being beaten up by the Pound vs. Dollar conversion twice in my life. I say pleasure because I never really minded much while taking in the whole British experience driving through Oxford, London and the Buckinghamshire (particularly Haddenham) countryside. Our friends, Julian and his son Mark Stow, have always provided a comfortable home, great food (yes...it was good Mr. Chirac) and unmatched hospitality...a few pints at The Rose and Thistle never hurts either. We've toured London together, we've toured Oxford together...and we almost got them to take us to a Pikey Camp (think Brad Pitt's residence in Snatch). The point I'm trying to make is this...I loved the UK and really enjoyed my time in London...which is one of the reasons why it is very disturbing to turn on the BBC news (via NYC cable of course) to see the terrorist attacks on the London Underground this morning. Without making a political statment...I'll simply send my sympathy and respect to the UK for responding to the situation quickly and maintaining order. Unfortunately NYC has become accustomed to this type of threat, yet the thought of another attack on this city sends chills down my spine. I sincerely wish the people of the UK the best of luck and a speedy recovery in healing the wounds an attack of this sort creates within society.