It's very, very hard. I no longer believe in a god or the Republican Party. I hadn't for years, but something about 9-11 pushed me to make the "no god" thing official. I finally admitted my lack of belief to my mother. I've paid for it ever since. I had been "apolitical" for years, but junior is such a beast (chimp) that I had to make a stand in politics, too. When it rains, it pours.

For me, 9-11 really did change everything. I was watching a nature documentary yesterday. Canada geese were flying past the Manhattan skyline and my eyes were drawn irresistably to the twin towers. For me, the sight of those towers not only means horrible death and destruction (people jumping; people being killed while on the phone to loved ones), it means a complete shift in my life. I couldn't sit on the fence anymore.