In the year 2000 a 7-11 convenience store in my neighborhood was purchased by a Pakistani man. All employees were fired and the name was changed to Star-7, to include the big Red Star as it's logo. Three middle-eastern men were hired and TV's were placed in the office and over the checkout counter. They lived in the 20-unit garden-style apartment complex RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. The Star-7 was next door to Rosie's Bar and Liquor, a local "watering hole" in the neighborhood.

Every few months the "new employees" would change. Three "old" middle-eastern men gone, three "new" to take their place. I watched this unfold for the whole year. The men looked liked the "9/11 high-jackers." Grown men in their thirties and mean looking. You could just tell they were people you really wouldn't want to get to know. I thought the store was funneling terrorists into the USA through work visas sponsored by the "owner." That's how my thought process works. Something just didn't seem right and neighbors laughed at my thoughts. 

One night, about 6 months after the sale of the store, I went in to get a newspaper and some Gatorade on the way home from work at about 1:30 in the morning. The four "employees" were huddled around the TV in the office. CNN on the TV in the office. FOX on the TV over the counter. 38 people had been killed by a suicide bomb attack in Israel. The headlines on my paper read the same thing that was on the TV over the counter.

One of the men came to check me out and asked what I thought of the event that occurred. I said, "As long as I can remember there has always been a problem since Yasser Arafat was in charge." The daggers flew from his eyes. He YELLED at me, "You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about it. Israel must be wiped off the map and all Jews must die!!" I walked out of the store that night, NEVER to return.

Eva, a bartender at Rosie's, started dating a middle-eastern "friend" of the Star-7 employees. Big mistake. Within two weeks she moved this guy, about 25 years old, into her house, out of the apartments across the street from the Star-7. She was in love. Oh, by the way, Eva lived two houses from me, TWO DOORS DOWN. I met the guy, shook his hand, welcomed him to America, and asked him how he liked America. When I asked if he was employed he said, "No, but I have an application in at the WATER TREATMENT PLANT on Copans Road." The plant serviced the surrounding neighborhood and area. I didn't trust this guy and thought something was amiss after what had happened in the store and now meeting this guy. I conveyed my thoughts to my neighbors and they all said I was paranoid and crazy.

About two days BEFORE 9/11, "Ahab Rabib" disappeared. Didn't come home to Eva one night and Eva was heartbroken. His car was still in the driveway and all his belongings were still in the house. She was perplexed, to say the least.

About two weeks later, AFTER 9/11, again returning home from work, I noticed the two vans and an automobile outside Eva's house about 12:30 AM. I thought she had gotten over "Rabib" and was a little perturbed I wasn't invited to the party. The next day I asked my "next-door" neighbor if he was invited. He said, "Haven't you heard? THAT WAS THE FBI!! Eva's boyfriend was a terrorist!!!"

They confiscated all his belongs to include auto and computer. Eva was "grilled" in Miami for three days by the FBI. I called the FBI and asked if they knew the "terrorist" had an application in with the WATER TREATMENT PLANT. They said they knew and that it was a good thing he didn't get that job.  

Wait. It gets better. I moved to Sebastian, Florida in 2002, became active with letters to the editor, e-mails to Congressmen, and e-mails to shows like The Factor, Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, etc. I e-mailed State Senator Mike Harridopolis with the above story. He answered in a hand written letter and told me he sent a copy of the letter to the State Sheriff's Department. They contacted me and said they were forwarding a copy of the letter to Homeland Security. Homeland Security contacted me, thanked me for my info, and told me to continue to contact them with anything I thought looked suspicious, and that it was a good thing "Rabib" didn't get the job at the WATER TREATMENT PLANT. Oh, by the way, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS were added to the terror list immediately. They said convenience/store gas stations were now on the terror watch list. They added the stores because of the story I passed on to them. I sent them a list of what I thought were terrorist targets in the state of Florida. They concurred.

Be ever vigilent. What looks suspicious probably is. Alert local, county, and state officials with any concerns you have. And remember, it's real easy to sponsor work visas once you own a business.  LEGAL ALIENS just don't get to sashay around the country without a sponsor. Once they are here, however,  they can disappear. Do you really know who those middle-eastern types are that reside in your neighborhood or own convenience/store gas stations? What seems impossible, ISN"T!!!