Terror in Tavistock Square.

I'm sure you've already heard about this elsewhere, but for good measure check the BBC, Guardian, Independent and Times stories on this morning's London terror bombings. I'm a bit shaken up about these attacks - in fact, the last time I was as shaken up as this was probably on 9/11. This morning's bombings had an immediacy for me that most previous bombings did not, insofar as they took place in a city I've actually lived in. As if that wasn't enough, one of the bombings took place at Tavistock Square - mere steps away from the digs I occupied when I was studying abroad in London in the summer of 2002. Having lived right on the square, I came to feel a strong attachment to the place. In my mind's eye I can still picture architectural details of the Georgian buildings lining the square; with the ears of memory I can still hear the sound of traffic that used to waft through my window; in some sense, too, I can still feel the cool morning air that I would feel as I strode across the square on the way to the Russell Square Tube. In short, Tavistock Square is a familiar enough place to me that news of a bus exploding there hits close to home. At the same time, the bombing strikes me as particularly ironic, given that Tavistock Square is home to a number of peace memorials, including a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, a cherry tree honoring the victims of Hiroshima and a memorial to conscientious objectors. Part of me wonders whether the pacifist symbolism that attaches to Tavistock Square helped make it a target, but I really don't want to give the attackers that much credit. In any event, I'm still too dazed by the news to really analyze this morning's events with any clarity. Today and in the coming days I'll be praying for the victims, their families and friends, and the people of London. I urge my readers to do the same. AMDG.