I'm back and what the heck is going on in the world?

I'm back.  I didn't know what in the world to blog about today.  I was going to share some amazing pics of Lake Tahoe and my vacation, but then I started getting news alerts on my computer.

• The University of Texas in Austin is evacuated because of a bomb threat at 8:35 a.m.  A man claiming to be al-Qaida says he has placed bombs all over the 50,000 student campus.  He says the bombs will explode in 90 minutes.
• North Dakota State University in Fargo receives information that there is a bomb on campus.  The dean orders evacuation of the 20,000 students from the main campus and downtown campus.
• Neither university has located any bombs or had any explosions, yet this day of classes was lost to terrorist's threats.
• Mobs attack the U.S. embassy in Tunisia.  Windows are broken.  Fires are started.  Anti-American violence swarms through the city.
• Protesters attack the German embassy in Sudan.  Fires.  Violence.
• Tripoli, Lebanon experiences mob violence when a KFC and Arby's are burned down in protest to the visit from Pope Benedict.
• The U.S. embassy in Yemen is stormed in reaction to a film considered blasphemous to Islam.
• This attack in Yemen follows similar outbreaks of violence that have occurred in Cairo, Egypt and Libya.
• All this while we watch and wait to see how Israel is going to respond to Iran's nuclear threat.

And I wanted to show you my vacation pictures.  I celebrated 100 years of Marine aviation with The Few, The Proud, The Marines.  I love Marines.  I mean, who doesn't?

I relaxed in South Lake Tahoe and breathed thin air and tried to catch my breath while walking two blocks at a 15% incline.  I am so out of shape.

I've missed reading all my blogger friends and discovering what is new in the blogosphere.  I'm going to try to catch up with everyone this weekend. 

For now, I'll pray for the students and faculty and staff in Texas and North Dakota.  I'll pray for a stopping of the violence in the Middle East and North Africa.  I'll pray for Israel and Iran to find a way to co-exist.  I'm happy to be back from vacation, but the world is going to heck in a handbasket, and right now, all I can do is pray.

Continuing my gratitude list:
551.  Sleeping in my own bed
552.  Drinking water from my own tap
553.  Driving my own car
554.  Sitting on my own couch
555.  Cooking my own food
556.  Blogging and reading blogs