November 13: Thankful for Paris

I am thankful for Paris. 

I've been talking about Paris all week and when I heard the tragic news about the terrorist attacks there, I found it bizarre that I had been bringing up the city so often.

When I was in Europe, I was leaving Amsterdam to get to the train. The plan was to take the train from there to Brussels and then fly to Chicago. To be honest I was completely over being in Europe at that point. I was running late and told my cab driver to step on it. In Amsterdam there are several traffic lanes- the tram, public traffic, cabs- and there are walkways in between where people will walk or ride their bikes. A guy was darting across the street and my cab driver hit him. He tumbled over the top of the Mercedes I was in. He survived, with a broken leg and a concussion, thank God, but I did miss my train and flight that day. The airline told me I could spend the night in Paris or spend the night in Brussels. The airport was in Brussels and I didn't want to risk missing another flight. I regret many things on that trip but I was talking just this week about how I regretted not going to Paris. Back then I had no concern for my safety- nobody really had the fear that we all have now. I left Europe a month or so before September 11th, 2001. 

This is the second major terrorist attack on France, after the Charlie Hebdo attack. It's seeming less romantic and more frightening lately. I still want to go. 

I'm thankful my friend Amber left Paris on Tuesday. I'm thankful that people still care when bad things happen to people they don't know. I'm thankful that I've had the luxury of taking for granted my own perceived safety. I'm thankful that people reach out to help strangers. I'm thankful that people rebuild after tragedy. I'm thankful that sometimes people who are victims have a voice and supporters and are loud and demand something good come out of something bad. I'm thankful I'm in a crowded shopping mall as I write this, and nobody around me is trying to kill anybody.