I nearly died in London.

OK, I may be exaggerating a bit, but then again, maybe not.

My near death experience occurred in the London Underground. I want to say it was on the Jubilee line, but that could be because it was my most frequently used Underground train route. But it's not important. Here's what is.

I'm sitting in the train across from my friend Lola and her friend when we get into a conversation about the recent death of the world's most hated man: Osama bin Laden. Lola asks my view on how he died and if he should have been taken into custody. Without hesistation I blurt out, 'Of course not. Why would we keep him alive under my tax-paying dollars?' The fact that my significantly small tax contributions do absolutely nothing for the economy has nothing to do with it. I was exercising my freedom of expression as an American, and like many Americans who watched the Twin Towers crumble before our eyes, still smarting from the audacity of bin Laden and his cohorts to take so many innocent lives.

Yeah right!

This older man--and I hate to profile him-- who looked and dressed like he could be from the Middle East, sitting next to me barely waits for the words to come tumbling out my mouth when he starts yelling at me to be careful what I say especially in the Underground. "I guess you won't care if someone brings out a gun and shoots you dead right here," he says after I tell him I don't care what anyone thinks about my opinion. He quickly issued a disclaimer saying he wasn't disagreeing with me, but felt obligated to let me know an Osama fanatic could be in the same train and shoot me in retaliation after overhearing my comments. Hmmm...

He got off at the next start, leaving me wondering how close I may have come to becoming a victim of a terrorist attack, even as Lola and her friend laughed him off. I joined them in laughing for a second, but the realization of how possible the scenario was dawned on me. London is known for its heavy reliance on the use of the Underground, which makes the subway system a prime target for terrorist activities. Throughout my vacation, and especially in my last week there, officers heavily manned all transportation portals in the wake of bin Laden's death. So it's quite possible for this unknown man's words to become prophetic. I don't know why anyone would bother with lil' ol' me, but I still cringe at my close brush with death.