The Skeptic Tank

There is a gradation of seriousness moving north to south in Manhattan. I had dinner near Columbia University Thursday night, in a neighborhood too far north to even see the World Trade Center. There, the grocery stores were as crowded as always, with people pushing in the usual evening rush. The Columbia students sat around enthusiastically debating the events. In mid-town, rush hour traffic was about a third what it normally was. There were about 2 dozen people waiting in line to get tickets to The Producers, normally there might be 100 or more. Around the UN were dump trucks filled with sand blocking off selected streets: heavy mobile barriers to car bombs or other problems. Armed federal police stood guard every 100 feet or so. Normally in front of the UN are flying the flags of all member states in alphabetical order starting with Afghanistan. Today the flagpoles were empty except a single UN flag at half-mast. A coworker of mine had a panic attack when she entered our building at work, feeling very vulnerable and frightened of what's next. But we were soon able to cheer her up and soon she was able to complain about the lack of fresh bagels anywhere. It was hard to be productive, as all of our little projects seemed so insignificant compared to the continuing drama downtown.

Things really change at 14th street, where people need photo ID just to walk home, and no one is allowed near the big hospitals. Today we still have no mail or deliveries, and most businesses are still closed.

Last night I saw a bright flash outside the window, followed by a muffled thud, then sirens. Expecting the worst. I watched to see what would follow, and there were more flashes. It turned out to just be the beginning of a heavy thunderstorm, but there were about 90 bomb threats throughout the city on Thursday, and any one could have been real.

We had a bomb scare Tuesday afternoon right outside my building at the corner of King and 6th. Two men were driving a yellow Rider truck north, then suddenly stopped the truck and ran. A woman walking her dog called 911 and within minutes several police had set up barricades, evacuated the lower floor of adjacent apartment buildings, and had their shotguns aimed at the truck. It turns out that the drivers were simply double-parking while getting coffee. The efficiency of response was comforting, though. I feel safer now than I normally do. I actually hear fewer sirens these days than I do on normal days.

I've been impressed and awed by the efforts of all the emergency crews, acting professionally and without pride. I'm proud of New York City and know that an even greater tragedy could have occurred, and the city would still have been able to react.

The weather was spectacularly beautiful Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and it matched the optimism most people had about finding more victims in the rubble and the joy of making it through so far. Today is rainy and in the 50s, and that seems to match people's attitude that the reality of daily life is changed permanently.

Watching the TV, I see that most stations still have round-the-clock coverage with no commercial breaks, but the home shopping channels have resumed normal programming. This seems at the same time very crass but also a refreshing return to normalcy.