Now I know what my grandparents meant when they said they remember where they were when they heard about Pearl Harbor. I was on a religious retreat this weekend, and when a guy barged into the kitchen while we were getting breakfast and told us what had happened (no television or radio at the retreat house), we all thought he was some local nutcase. But then we got in the cars to come home and all the radio news confirmed it....

Prayers for those affected, but also, in my Christian compassion, prayers for the mercy of God on those who perpetrated the attack. (There's some Bible verse that says praying for your enemies is like heaping burning coals on their heads, if you prefer that.)