falls church
sun 30-may-04

The canary has left the building. Since long before 9-11 the neighbors have been suspicious of the goings on at the home of the Imam of nearby Mega Mosque. Since 9-11, at least one of the hijackers have been directly tied to Mega Mosque. And while we were in Hawaii, the FBI apparently did a major raid on the house.

At first, I was concerned about having a "cell" less than 300 yards away. Then, I decided that unless they were really bad bomb builders - I wasn't in in danger. In fact, I could consider the occupants to be the canary in the mine shaft. If one day they all disappeared... well, then maybe it would be time to hop in the car and take a trip to West Virginia.

Well, yesterday morning - a For Sale sign showed up on the lawn. Is this the signal? Does the Imam need 1.2 million dollars for legal expenses? Are all the occupants being deported? Or are they guests of the government? From a neighborhood point of view - I am relieved to see them go. But why now? What good is a canary if you don't heed her message?