London bombings felt by area resident

By Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writer

Goodrich – Four bombings on London’s mass-transit system last week are resonating with locals.
Goodrich resident Vanessa Latulippe is thankful for the safety of her cousins? families, who live in Rainham, a suburb of London.
‘There’s probably about six that work in London,? said Latulippe, who called her family around noon the day of the bombings.
London is the center of work for many in the area, for whom mass transportation is a way of life. One cousin was stranded after work, Latulippe said.
‘It was a mess, it was awful. They were expecting something to happen, but they didn’t know when.?
Lynn Maki, who attends Goodrich United Methodist Church, has lived in the U.S. about 13 years.
She returned from England only three weeks ago, and hasn’t received an e-mail reply from a friend in London, although e-mails between them are typically sporadic, she says.
Underground trains in London are similar to the New York subway system, says Maki, with side or bus-like seating, and the subway system connects with rail trains all over the country.
Leah Troyer came to live in Goodrich in 1954 after marrying her husband, a soldier in the U.S. Air Force while living in her hometown Cambridge in the U.K.
Public transportation is such a way of life in England it was difficult to adjust, she says.
Ironically, the underground train tunnels were considered a place of safety during the Blitz in the early 1940s, said Troyer.
‘It lasted 40 days and 40 nights. The Germans just kept bombing, and bombing, and bombing. The peopel in London went into the underground (train tunnels) and slept because it was the safest place to be, and now this happened down there.?
The attacks won’t affect Britains? spirit, say Troyer and Latulippe.
‘Londoners are strong,? Troyer said. ‘London has gone through and awful lot and they’ll get back on their feet.?
‘English people are not going to let someone get the best of ’em,? Latulippe said.

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