EAST WENATCHEE, Wash. – A teacher who vowed nearly 10 years ago not to cut his beard until Osama bin Laden was captured or proven dead said he cried Sunday night upon hearing of the terrorist’s death.

“I spent my first five minutes crying and then I couldn’t get it off fast enough,” said Gary Weddle, 50, who lives in East Wenatchee but teaches middle school science in Ephrata.

Weddle has wanted to cut his beard for years. His wife, Donita, has wanted him to cut it, too. But for Weddle a vow is a vow and so he hadn’t even trimmed it until Sunday night.

Ai yai yai. We don’t know about you, but it’s been a pretty exhausting last 20 hours or so. Here’s an Uncle John’s salute to our brave men and women in uniform, and to those on the civilian side, who work every day to make this world a safer, better place. Thank you from us, a job well done.

And here’s to everyone who lost someone on September 11, 2001. We sincerely hope this brought you a little bit of peace.