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Thanks Cary---for sending this along in email.
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Memphians witness tragic day in London
By Oliver StaleyContactJuly 8, 2005
With no early morning meetings Thursday, Bridget Coggin-Thomson decided to take her time getting into work.
That decision may have saved her life.
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Coggin-Thomson, a Memphian who lives in Crystal Palace in southeast London, commutes downtown by railroad, then transfers to the Underground. She gets out at King's Cross station, near the site of an explosion that rocked the city.
"On a normal day, I would have been there," Coggin-Thomson said. "I didn't have a meeting until 11 o'clock this morning and I missed it, by the grace of God."
Coggin-Thomson grew up near Germantown but has lived in London for 31/2 years and is married to an Englishman. She said she was "still in shock" from her close call but was not surprised by the attack.
"We basically knew it was going to happen and it was a waiting game. Terrorism is worldwide and, especially with (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair's relationship with Bush, we knew al-Qaida would do something."
Coggin-Thomson is one of dozens of Mid-South residents who were in London Thursday. Some live there, others are summer interns and students and some are just on vacation.
Two of them, Lundy Wilder and Sarah O'Dell, arrived in London Monday for the first stage of a monthlong trip through Europe. They planned to spend Thursday in Oxford but were prevented from getting on the Underground at Paddington Station.
"Very calmly, the employees said 'I'm sorry, there's been bombs on the Underground,'" said Wilder, a Web site manager.
With little information about what was happening, Wilder said she wondered if the bombs were related to President Bush's trip to Scotland for the G8 summit. "I thought 'Gee, whiz, do they hate America that much if they're attacking England because of the presence of President Bush?'"
O'Dell, a librarian at Tipton-Rosemark Academy in Millington, said she was impressed by the calm she felt from the English people.
"It wasn't any of this widespread panic," she said. "On television, a World War II veteran said 'We have done this before.' They have that stiff upper lip and they're not going to let someone make them a coward."
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Memphians witness tragic day in London
By Oliver StaleyContactJuly 8, 2005
With no early morning meetings Thursday, Bridget Coggin-Thomson decided to take her time getting into work.
That decision may have saved her life.
Advertisement
Coggin-Thomson, a Memphian who lives in Crystal Palace in southeast London, commutes downtown by railroad, then transfers to the Underground. She gets out at King's Cross station, near the site of an explosion that rocked the city.
"On a normal day, I would have been there," Coggin-Thomson said. "I didn't have a meeting until 11 o'clock this morning and I missed it, by the grace of God."
Coggin-Thomson grew up near Germantown but has lived in London for 31/2 years and is married to an Englishman. She said she was "still in shock" from her close call but was not surprised by the attack.
"We basically knew it was going to happen and it was a waiting game. Terrorism is worldwide and, especially with (British Prime Minister Tony) Blair's relationship with Bush, we knew al-Qaida would do something."
Coggin-Thomson is one of dozens of Mid-South residents who were in London Thursday. Some live there, others are summer interns and students and some are just on vacation.
Two of them, Lundy Wilder and Sarah O'Dell, arrived in London Monday for the first stage of a monthlong trip through Europe. They planned to spend Thursday in Oxford but were prevented from getting on the Underground at Paddington Station.
"Very calmly, the employees said 'I'm sorry, there's been bombs on the Underground,'" said Wilder, a Web site manager.
With little information about what was happening, Wilder said she wondered if the bombs were related to President Bush's trip to Scotland for the G8 summit. "I thought 'Gee, whiz, do they hate America that much if they're attacking England because of the presence of President Bush?'"
O'Dell, a librarian at Tipton-Rosemark Academy in Millington, said she was impressed by the calm she felt from the English people.
"It wasn't any of this widespread panic," she said. "On television, a World War II veteran said 'We have done this before.' They have that stiff upper lip and they're not going to let someone make them a coward."
posted by Lundy Wilder at Friday, July 08, 2005
1 Comments:
Lundy,
Glad to hear you and Sara are having a good trip in spite of things. I've prayed for you but I haven't worried. Tell Sara we are friends of the Faulconers, whose children go to Tipton-Rosemark. Cole is on Evans' baseball team. They are a sweet family. It's such a small world.
Well, I'm glad you're not in the path of Hurricane Dennis (would you rather not know about this?). Maybe it will miss the gulf. And bring some rain our way.
I've been to minor med. I think I have the flu again (2nd time in a month). Must have picked it up at the pediatrician's office yesterday. The phenergan they gave me is kicking in, so off to sleep I go. I'll be thinking of you and Sara, imagining you running around in Burberry raincoats. Hopefully, when you get to Paris you'll have more time to update us and maybe put some photos on the site.
I know Ruth will get a chuckle out of your being such a Publicity Hound!
Be safe, love, Carol
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