I thought these insights into a couple of Americans were worth sharing: These come from the Associated Press, October 9, 2001.

But for others, carrying on was a patriotic and perhaps courageous gesture of defiance against accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Claudette and Floyd Nelson, retirees from Mora, Minn., endured a 30-minute wait in bitter cold and passed through a metal detector to see the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

"It's telling that little slug over there that we're not afraid of him," said Claudette Nelson, 67. "He's not going to succeed. No way."


Nancy Fritz, a nursing student from Irvine, Calif., studied for her midterms in the courtyard of a Phoenix mall while her husband attended a convention.

"For me, especially living near Hollywood, where most of America's culture is disseminated to the world, the possibility of retaliatory strikes now seems very real. I'll probably start to stockpile bottled water and nonperishable food supplies," she said.

Still, "I can't see myself taking a vacation in Afghanistan any time soon, but other than that, I won't change much in my life."