Pat, thank you for your letter. I understand very well about the uncertainty of life today...for one thing, I'm a native New Yorker, and my grandparents lived about 6 or 7 blocks from where the WTC later was built. Trinity Church is built on land that one of my Huguenot families once owned a large portion of, and several are buried in the church's cemetery. We've had ancestors in New York since before it was even New Amsterdam, and on both sides of my family, they helped to build it, and they fought to defend it from the British (one Cleveland (my maiden name) was in the Revolutionary War from the age of 12 until he was 15, when the war was over. I'm sure his family didn't want him to go, but, unfortunately, in every war, it's the young who defend the old, and in some cases, the "old" go and do it again (I'm thinking now of my father and grandfather). I understand very well that you worry about your daughter and her family. You wouldn't be human if you didn't. Have they been there long? If they wan ted, could they send the children back to the States? Like you, the same thread seems to go back with nearly every generation. One ancestor was thought to be the youngest soldier in King Philip's War, in the mid-to-late 1600's. I HATE the idea of going to war again, but the alternative is even worse. I think that Saddam wouldn't hestitate for a second to literally "do his worst", using everything he has, and unfortunately, he appears to have a lot. In a way, I guess it's our own fault: we've allowed him to ignore all the orders (and his false agreements) to disarm, and we've done this for twelve long years. One of my sons-in-law was in the Gulf War, and also has some undefined problems now. But he stayed in for 27 years, and I'm grateful for people like him. Even when we weren't officially at war with anyone, he pretty much put his life on the line many times, due to the particular line he was in. I have eight chlldren, and I want their children and their grandchildren to grow up in the same kind of America that I did (yes, I know it can't/won't be exactly the same), but at least I hope it will be free of fear of terrorists, without having to wonder if your home or your work place, or the daycare where your children are, or the school, will be hit by a bomb or a grenade, or just a nut with a handgun. Our ancestors fought too hard, and gave up too much, for us to allow all they they bought for us with their own blood, to be destroyed, or even threatened. I've rambled on 'way too long! And I apologize. I get carried away sometimes, as you've just discovered!! I hope you'll keep us posted on how things are going for your daughter and family. Regards, Barb in MO