It's Bin Nice Knowing You

Good morning, and greetings, Friday fans.  I didn't want to let this week of glorious weather on the central coast go by without mentioning the death of the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.     

Here we were, thinking that bin Laden was living somewhere in a dark, dank, dimly lit cave without access to the Internet, cable or Direct TV.  Well, it turns out that the head honcho of Team al-Qaida was residing comfortably in a custom-built home just one hundred yards from Pakistan's West Point in a neighborhood filled with retired military personnel. It seems a tad strange that no one would have recognized him in the 'hood. But then again, $20 billion in foreign aid just doesn't buy what it used to.     

We kind of knew that our Pakistani compatriots had a clue to his whereabouts, as Hillary Clinton said as much last year in a speech to the Karachi Rotary Club. Or as Ricky used to say to Lucy, "You've got some 'splaining' to do."  I guess that may be why we didn't inform our valued allies that a group of Navy SEALs were flying under the radar in stealth helicopters to take down the poster child of evil.       

So when I was told the the king was dead, I felt little jubilation. Americans celebrated and danced in streets while chanting, "USA, USA," which seemed somewhat strange. I felt sad that it had taken 10 years to settle the score with the mastermind of 9/11 and that his demise might not bring much comfort to the families whose lives were devastated by the attack.     

9/11 was a day the country will never forget. And here's hoping the bin Laden won't forget the moment when he saw that gun pointed at his face before they blew half his head off. He was buried at sea is and is now swimming with the fishes. Or as Jimmy Kimmel said, "This could be the best shark week ever." And the facts about the raid continue to get change by the minute, as now Donald Trump is demanding to see the death certificate.     

So to finish off the week, today's photo is my favorite sunset from 2006. It was taken at Stockton Avenue along West Cliff Drive. I call in "Super Sunday." Ironically, the same could be said of the way the nation felt after hearing the news of bin Laden's death.     

We'll catch you next week. Aloha, mahalo and, later, SEALs fans. 

Geoffrey Gilbert

SunriseSantaCruz.com