I was hoping to avoid the subject of terrorism for a while, so consider the following links to be stories about normal people who witnessed extraordinary events.

The author of this firsthand account of the attempted shoe-bombing was traveling with his sister and parents. His mother was sitting in the seat directly in front of Richard Reid. On New Years Day the author posted this followup report.

A few days after the flight, The New York Times published this set of photos taken on the plane shortly after the the attempted bomber was restrained.

We heard about the shoe-bomber flight in Utah shortly after we arrived–by plane of course. In September, we flew into Newark the night of the 10th, I was woken the next morning by news of the first World Trade Center attack. I fly a lot.

The increased security at the airports is overwhelmingly pathetic. The people still don’t seem qualified, and searches lasted only until the plane needed to leave the gate for an on-time departure. Any creative third grader could devise a dozen ways around all of it.

Do the soldiers with assault rifles stationed by the metal-detectors make anyone feel more comfortable? How many bodies can a bullet fired from an M-16 go through before it slows down? I have to believe the psychological effect they are trying for would be better effected by qualified, professional people manning the checkpoints.