Some of the readers of my blog and social media pages are aware that I live in London and they have been kind enough to send messages of concern and support in response to the recent terrorist attacks.
Thank you.
I'm fine, and without minimizing the sadness that goes with such events, London and Londoners (native and adopted) will not let this change their daily life nor, I hope, will they blame the actions of a few on a religious or ethnic group in general.
From my flat, I heard the explosion that blew up a bus on July 7, 2005.
When I first came to London, it was in the middle of an IRA campaign and I saw a car bomb go off on the street opposite the flat I lived in then --I was on the fifth floor and the flames shot up that far.
They also blew up a mailbox down the street, and they placed a bomb in a pub I went to occasionally, killing a man.
Many Londoners have similar stories.
We must take reasonable action to try to prevent these attacks but without sacrificing the freedoms that define our way of life.
It's a major challenge and I'm not confident that our current leaders in the US or the UK are up to it.
It's up to each of us to do that as individuals and I think the first step is to follow that over-exposed mantra, keep calm and carry on.