Are their troubles really over??

I watch the TV in disbelief, memories flooding back from London over a decade ago.

Is it really true? Is it really over? Thirty years and how many deaths later? No more gruesome pictures of gunshots at funerals? No more evacuations and blocked entries?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/6634373.stm

Ironically, the only terrorist victims I've known were killed by Libyans and local British Muslims. I didn't actually know anyone who died in an IRA attack. There was a lot of back-and-forth killing in N. Ireland but it was the IRA who attacked the British outside.

We were calmly doing our trip trades at the computers when Tony announced, no leaving. Coded warning. Everything's blocked...

You know no one lifted an eye, even when we heard they were hurling missiles on to the runway. Would you believe they didn't go off anyway, but it was almost an attitude of "We wont let them panic us. We're keeping our cool..."

Coded warning. They never said "IRA" as if it were a nasty word. When the Underground announced that there was a "coded warning", everyone knew it meant business and to get out of there...keeping your cool the whole time.

You can imagine how confusing it was for my mother. All of a sudden, I tell her we have to go. "Why?" So I give the obvious answer "It's a coded warning so it's for real...oh, yeah, coded means it's really the IRA" I felt disloyal actually saying those letters in the middle of an evacuating crowd. Not that I would have caused panic but that I was breaking the unmentioned rule. Don't even give them the dignity of saying their name. Let the tourists be confused. They have to scram anyway.

Mother looks at me and says "You really do live under this threat, don't you??"

I was just grateful we only had to evacuate *once* that day. I did have to evacuate twice in one day.

Once we were simply shoved on a train and I had no idea where we were going. All the Underground workers would say was "Coded warning, you need to leave..." I realized that I was headed the wrong direction and managed to reroute myself west via another line.

The TV wasn't allowed to broadcast the IRA's direct voices. The BBC would voice over with another N. Irish-accented actor. When they lifted the ban, it was so funny to see that Jerry Adams voice sounded the same, and his lips did move at the same time!

But what really shocked me was that they put Iain Paisley in charge. I'm thinking "What-the-" and then he starts talking about putting the past behind them, etc...Oh my G-D! What happened? How did they do that?!? Did they DRUG him? Brianwashed him back to normalicy? What brought about the change?? How did they crack his thick skull??

Then I knew it was for real. Miracles are possible...