This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Neighbor News

Pan Am Flight 103, as we remember it 34 years later.

The tragedy of Britain's worst terrorist incident and what it teaches us.

December 21st, 1988 would be seared into the memories of British residents forever. On that day at 19:02 local time, Pan Am Flight 103, bound from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F Kennedy airport, was blown up by a bomb planted onboard.

Tourists and entire families were on board the Boeing 747 jet when it took off at 18:25 local time from runway 27R, bound for New York. They were all looking forward to their holiday vacations when, just 37 minutes into the flight, a bomb, planted by Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, detonated in the forward cargo hold. The explosion blew the entire nose of the plane off, causing the plane, travelling at 560 mph, to immediately break up in midair, killing all 259 people onboard. There were no survivors. Burning wreckage fell into the Scotland town of Lockerbie, killing 11 people on the ground and starting innumerable fires that burned several dozen houses and half of Lockerbie to the ground.

Half a town destroyed by fire, and 270 people killed, all because Megrahi was single and had no girlfriend. Megrahi went alone and without a group to events. He went alone and all by himself to bars and nightclubs without a group. He was probably rejected a ton of times. And when he snapped, he blew up Pan Am Flight 103, killing 270 people and reducing half a town to charred rubble.

Find out what's happening in Fort Myersfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 is one of the many reasons, the others including but not limited to the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, why I will allow absolutely no single or lone guys, or guys not accompanied by their families, at my New Year's Eve camping event near Tampa Bay, and I will NOT allow any guys that are single, alone, or without a family into my Love Burn 2023 music and camping event. Love Burn 2023 is strictly for close-knit and well-defined families of at least three or more people, and they must be related by family to one another. No exceptions. Background family checks will be conducted. If you're a single man and/or without a family present with you and already bought a ticket to my Love Burn 2023 or NYE event, you will be turned away at the entrance checkpoint and trespassed by the police and will not be issued a refund. And if by chance you do make it past the checkpoint and I find out that you're single, alone, or without a family, I will call the police, and any male guest present at my NYE or Love Burns 2023 events that is found to be single, alone, or without a family present with them will be arrested at the event and will face automatic jail for felony trespassing.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?