LaurieGarrett.com

DAY THIRTY ONE:

Oct. 11:

It's been a month.

We have a Democratic candidate for Mayor, which, given one out of five New Yorkers is a Democrat, means Mark Green is in all likelihood our new mayor, to be affirmed in the final face-off in November.

And I am still far from home, in Seattle.

Today Seattle marked the one-month point with a day of no classes at the University of Washington, all lecture halls and classrooms dedicated to discussions of the implications of September 11. I was one of their speakers.

Throughout the day I posed questions and listened to what the medical and Public Health students and faculty had to say. They proved a thoughtful, eloquent lot. We discussed this moment in time when, out of fear of bioterrorism, government is willing to commit real resources, for the first time in decades, to public health infrastructure. The students were confused, and anxious. They wanted to know how Public Health could work with police, the FBI and the military without losing all its credibility in communities it most desperately needs to serve: minorities, marginalized people, people who are alienated from the police. Students also bemoaned the weak advocacy voice of Public Health, complaining that nobody speaks on their behalf, and Congress makes decisions without considering their profession's expertise.

I told the students and faculty that a window of opportunity has opened: a window that may slam shut quickly. All over Capitol Hill politicians in both political parties are saying the phrase "public health infrastructure" and talking about investing more than a billion dollars in improving America's sagging system. The motivator is bioterrorism, however, and if public health cannot step swiftly up to the plate the commitment will swiftly shift to the Departments of Justice and Defense. Amid the populace's panic lies real opportunity.

Among those in the audience were many leaders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, including Melinda. And this evening I had dinner with the Gates and three other guests at the home of the dean of the School of Medicine. The conversation ranged over many subjects of public health and bioterrorism, and I found everyone extremely well informed and deeply engaged. Gates told me that when he met with George Bush last year, the future President asked him, "What do you consider the biggest threat in the world today." And Gates responded, "Bioterrorism." The soon-to-be-President was stunned, Gates said.

Well, neither Bush nor any members of his administration are stunned any more.

God it's hard to be away from New York! I feel wracked by guilt every moment that I am away. It seems wrong, on an irrational level. It's as if I had deserted my 8 million-strong family in the midst of a crisis. I wore my "America's Heroes" T-shirt all day today: it's the one depicting firefighters holding a flag atop the Ground Zero debris, and is sold in my neighborhood to raise money for the families of firefighters from our local station house who perished in the Calamity. It made me feel a tinge better about being so far away. Though the air is fresh and clear here, lacking in that acrid Ground Zero stench that fills New York's air, I feel an irrational guilt with every breath I take. Crazy? Of course, but there it is.

Be safe. Be well. Stand Defiant.
Laurie Garrett

PS I erred yesterday in saying that JetBlue is the former Value Jet. It I not. Sorry.



DAY THIRTY ONE: Return to Index Oct. 11: It's been a month. We have a Democratic candidate for Mayor, which, given one out of five New Yorkers is a Democrat, means Mark Green is in all likelihood our new mayor, to be affirmed in the final face-off in November. And I am still far from home, in Seattle. Today Seattle marked the one-month point with a day of no classes at the University of Washington, all lecture halls and classrooms dedicated to discussions of the implications of September 11. I was one of their speakers. Throughout the day I posed questions and listened to what the medical and Public Health students and faculty had to say. They proved a thoughtful, eloquent lot. We discussed this moment in time when, out of fear of bioterrorism, government is willing to commit real resources, for the first time in decades, to public health infrastructure. The students were confused, and anxious. They wanted to know how Public Health could work with police, the FBI and the military without losing all its credibility in communities it most desperately needs to serve: minorities, marginalized people, people who are alienated from the police. Students also bemoaned the weak advocacy voice of Public Health, complaining that nobody speaks on their behalf, and Congress makes decisions without considering their profession's expertise. I told the students and faculty that a window of opportunity has opened: a window that may slam shut quickly. All over Capitol Hill politicians in both political parties are saying the phrase "public health infrastructure" and talking about investing more than a billion dollars in improving America's sagging system. The motivator is bioterrorism, however, and if public health cannot step swiftly up to the plate the commitment will swiftly shift to the Departments of Justice and Defense. Amid the populace's panic lies real opportunity. Among those in the audience were many leaders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, including Melinda. And this evening I had dinner with the Gates and three other guests at the home of the dean of the School of Medicine. The conversation ranged over many subjects of public health and bioterrorism, and I found everyone extremely well informed and deeply engaged. Gates told me that when he met with George Bush last year, the future President asked him, "What do you consider the biggest threat in the world today." And Gates responded, "Bioterrorism." The soon-to-be-President was stunned, Gates said. Well, neither Bush nor any members of his administration are stunned any more. God it's hard to be away from New York! I feel wracked by guilt every moment that I am away. It seems wrong, on an irrational level. It's as if I had deserted my 8 million-strong family in the midst of a crisis. I wore my "America's Heroes" T-shirt all day today: it's the one depicting firefighters holding a flag atop the Ground Zero debris, and is sold in my neighborhood to raise money for the families of firefighters from our local station house who perished in the Calamity. It made me feel a tinge better about being so far away. Though the air is fresh and clear here, lacking in that acrid Ground Zero stench that fills New York's air, I feel an irrational guilt with every breath I take. Crazy? Of course, but there it is. Be safe. Be well. Stand Defiant. Laurie Garrett PS I erred yesterday in saying that JetBlue is the former Value Jet. It I not. Sorry.