Dear Michael,
I very much appreciated your report and would add to this a mention of the
spectacular sunset this evening - a rainbow pointing from the ocean to NY
City, whose end could not be seen.
Another point I would make is that the atmosphere surrounding suburban New
York today is akin to London faced with ongoing IRA bombing campaigns of the
last few decades. Over the years, there are times when it has been necessary
to inspect the underside of a car before turning the ignition, and opening
every pocket of a personal bag for inspection before entering a department
store. Appointments are missed as streets are cleared for bomb scares. One
avoids lingering on a bridge. The American people in general are unfamiliar
with the realities of terrorist activity in their homeland, but as one who
does have some experience, I would just point out that there is no way of
knowing whether or not you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, hence
there's very little point in giving it any brain space. It works for me.
Regards,
Joanna
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on 9/14/01 9:17 AM, Michael Sondow at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> I just got back from Manhattan, where I went for the first time
> since the incidents on Tuesday.
>
> The air is still full of smoke and dust. Lots of people in the
> streets, which is the opposite of here in Queens, where the streets
> are deserted.
>
> Down at 14th Street, the current barrier beyond which one is not
> allowed to pass, there were many people standing about talking to
> each other and the police about what's happening down below. There
> were also endless police cars, sirens, ambulances, and work trucks
> running by.
>
> I went into a bar on 7th Avenue and 18th Street where a lot of
> people
> were gathered watching the news. I had a beer and talked to a
> nice-looking guy on the stool next to me. He said that unwittingly
> harboring terrorists was the price we pay for being an open country
> that welcomes foreigners. I guess he was right about that. He also
> told me that his brother, who lives in Dallas, called him and said
> that some people there were hunting down Arabs and killing them. I
> found that hard to believe, but he assured me it was true.
>
> Everyone's very on edge here. There are upwards of four thousand
> people dead beneath that massive destruction in the financial
> district, and it's hard to deal with. This is a shattering
> experience for most Americans, who have never known what it's like
> to be attacked. Hopefully it will be a growing and learning
> experience for them, but I fear that the majority will just thirst
> for revenge and a continuation of the vicious circle of violence.
>
> Frankly, I'm just as disturbed by it, psychologically and
> emotionally, as everyone else, especially after my foray to lower
> Manhattan this evening. It's hard to assimilate. This city, my city,
> where I was born and whose streets I wandered as a child, has, in
> effect, been attacked and partially destroyed. As a journalist in
> South America, I witnessed destruction, but seeing it happen on
> someone else's turf is very different from having it occur on one's
> own.
>
> It's supposed to rain tonight, which must have the rescue workers in
> a fit. I just heard thunder...at least I hope that's what it was. It
> must be scaring the wits out of people.
>
> This affair isn't over. Aside from the chance that other terrorists
> will be encouraged to repeat it, there is a very good chance that
> there's going to be a debacle when the markets open or shortly
> thereafter. I got hold of my broker TD Waterhouse this afternoon,
> and the prognosis was not favorable. They, as well as many other
> brokerages, have lost part of their installations. On top of this,
> many of the telephone lines are knocked out, including my own long
> distance and 800 service, as well as the stock exchange's phone
> lines, which are run by Verizon, as are my own. I called verizon,
> and they have no idea, none whasoever, when service will be
> restored. Their main switch building is under three feet of water,
> and the rain now is going to make it even worse.
>
> No, this isn't over yet, I'm afraid. And now it's pouring cats and
> dogs. It must be hell downtown.
>
> Michael
>
