Hrmm ...

I check BBC World News every day (or least every day I have internet access, so make it almost every other day). And today, I was quite disturbed by the news of yet another shooting in the US, this time at a Las Vegas school bus.

It makes me a bit nervous to come home for the holidays, with the news of three public shootings within about a month's time frame. Although I consider my little Glen Allen suburb pretty safe, I never know what kind of crazy mad man will shoot up VA Center Commons mall because he was mad his girlfriend left him (or something to that effect).

People have asked me if I feel safe here in Oman, and I assert that, yes, I do. Safety is relative, of course, and I think twice about driving alone in a certain area after a certain time of night, or walking alone in a certain shopping area, no matter what time of day it is. But for some reason, I believe that there is less likely to be a madman on the loose with a rifle ready to shoot up whatever mall or public space there is.

Given that Richmond city was ranked the 5th most dangerous in the US, I feel slightly safer here in Oman, what they dub as the peaceful "island of stability" in such a tumultuous region.