LaurieGarrett.com

DAY SIXTY:

Nov. 9:

The day began on an odd, early note. At an ungodly 8:30 in the morning I was seated on a dais, facing a room full of CEOs and corporate public relations execs in a state-of-the-art high tech conference room in Midtown, Manhattan. I had agreed to partake in this strange assemblage only at the behest of the NYC Commissioner of Health. He, however, was a no-show. But the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Antonia Novello, informed the elite gathering that Dr. Cohen's absence was no snub: There was another anthrax case that required his attention.

That got my attention. Given the dominant hypothesis that all of New York's anthrax cases stem from a September 18^th mailing, public health officialdom has assumed that no new cases would emerge from now on. Novello said as much herself, but insisted that, sadly, a new case had cropped up.

Eager to get off the stage and call my news desk, I fidgeted anxiously through boring talks until a PR flack for Entergy, which runs a string of nuclear power plants in the northeast, including Indian Point located north of Manhattan, said reports of nuclear vulnerability were exaggerated. According to the Entergy man a plane flown into their nuclear reactor would not cause the release of enough radioactivity to kill 20 million people in the greater New York area. No. Calm down. It would only be enough to kill "a few million", he said. Phew! And I thought there was something to worry about. That was a load off my mind, I'll tell you.

Racing to the office to nail down the new anthrax case I mulled over the possible sources of such an infection, and debated in my mind whether it was best to go to Newsday or head directly down to the city health department offices across from City Hall. Fortunately, I opted for Newsday.

My health department sources were flummoxed. They knew of no such anthrax case. They would call me tout suite. It turned out Novello was mistaken, and Gotham was spared another day of bioterrorism. But it was no comfort to learn that the individual in charge of the health of the people of New York State would so flippantly toss off such false allegations at a time of high anxiety in New York City.

It is also less than comforting to see the ugly old far right wing of the Republican Party resurrecting itself out of the ashes of terrorism. A group of super-conservatives were ranting in Congress today about what they considered disgusting and immoral AIDS education campaigns, funded by the CDC. They want those homosexual campaigns stripped from CDC's portfolio, and the monies put in bioterrorism programs. So the rob Peter to pay Paul campaign has begun. Already the global HIV/AIDS budget was slashed earlier this week (see today's Newsday on that:

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usdrug092455941nov09.story ).

Now the same Congress that saw fit to dole out billions to save the airlines industry and insurance providers refuses to allocate a single dime to offset the costs the public health system has incurred. Worse, they want to strip public health of some of its core functions out of a combination of ideological and cost-control intentions.

Of course you never know how things are going to turn out in the long run. Surprises always lurk around the horizon. Take Mike Bloomberg, for example. When he won the mayoral election in New York on Tuesday the omens were abysmal. We knew little about the man, actually, but assumed that an individual who was worth more than $4 billion, ran as a Republican and was prone to issuing off-the-wall comments would prove a disastrous Mayor. But today Bloomberg met with trade union leaders, wowing them from the Bronx to Staten Island, and leaving everyone convinced that he is a Republican in name, but a liberal Democrat in his heart. Stunned New Yorkers learned he intends to reject most of Giuliani's agenda and appointees in favor of a broad coalition of officials, including some who traditional Democrats would consider too left wing.

You never know what surprises might lurk around the corner.

This evening, for example, the great German choreographer Pina Bausch was performing a new two-and-a-half-hour piece at the Brooklyn Academy of Music entitled "Masurca Fogo". While it is true Bausch is one of the most avant garde and fascinating dance designers in the world today, and her pieces always wow BAM audiences, New Yorkers have remained in shock, we are told, disinterested in such abstractions. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sold out performance packed the Brooklyn Opera House's several thousand seats with the intelligentsia of New York who enthusiastically braved the subways and bridges, alleged terrorists and Ground Zero stench to make their pilgrimage to see Madam Bausch and her company of international performers.

Bausch did not disappoint. Her dancers brought humor, innovation, beauty and stunning skill to make "Masurca" even better than Bausch's masterpiece, "Palermo". At the performance's conclusion the company danced a slow motion masurca, two-by-two across the stage in sultry, sexy movements. The men peeled off their shirts, the women unzipped their dresses, and then the couples fell to the floor in each other's arms. Three-dimensional screens surrounding the still dancers filled with breathtaking, sensual videos of enormous flowers blooming and shivering, while the Opera House filled with the resonant string flourishes of the Alexander Balanescu Quartet. After a few stanzas a single female dancer rose from the floor to perform amid the projected flowers, her arms reaching for love. The cry for love built, louder, more insistent, until suddenly the music stopped and the stage went black.

And New Yorkers, hungry as they are for the taste of love, and the freedom to feel it, leapt to their feet, shouting "Bravo! Bravo!" and clapping madly for several bows. Germany's Bausch had found a way to open New York's heart.

Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant.

Laurie Garrett



DAY SIXTY: Return to Index Nov. 9: The day began on an odd, early note. At an ungodly 8:30 in the morning I was seated on a dais, facing a room full of CEOs and corporate public relations execs in a state-of-the-art high tech conference room in Midtown, Manhattan. I had agreed to partake in this strange assemblage only at the behest of the NYC Commissioner of Health. He, however, was a no-show. But the State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Antonia Novello, informed the elite gathering that Dr. Cohen's absence was no snub: There was another anthrax case that required his attention. That got my attention. Given the dominant hypothesis that all of New York's anthrax cases stem from a September 18^th mailing, public health officialdom has assumed that no new cases would emerge from now on. Novello said as much herself, but insisted that, sadly, a new case had cropped up. Eager to get off the stage and call my news desk, I fidgeted anxiously through boring talks until a PR flack for Entergy, which runs a string of nuclear power plants in the northeast, including Indian Point located north of Manhattan, said reports of nuclear vulnerability were exaggerated. According to the Entergy man a plane flown into their nuclear reactor would not cause the release of enough radioactivity to kill 20 million people in the greater New York area. No. Calm down. It would only be enough to kill "a few million", he said. Phew! And I thought there was something to worry about. That was a load off my mind, I'll tell you. Racing to the office to nail down the new anthrax case I mulled over the possible sources of such an infection, and debated in my mind whether it was best to go to Newsday or head directly down to the city health department offices across from City Hall. Fortunately, I opted for Newsday. My health department sources were flummoxed. They knew of no such anthrax case. They would call me tout suite. It turned out Novello was mistaken, and Gotham was spared another day of bioterrorism. But it was no comfort to learn that the individual in charge of the health of the people of New York State would so flippantly toss off such false allegations at a time of high anxiety in New York City. It is also less than comforting to see the ugly old far right wing of the Republican Party resurrecting itself out of the ashes of terrorism. A group of super-conservatives were ranting in Congress today about what they considered disgusting and immoral AIDS education campaigns, funded by the CDC. They want those homosexual campaigns stripped from CDC's portfolio, and the monies put in bioterrorism programs. So the rob Peter to pay Paul campaign has begun. Already the global HIV/AIDS budget was slashed earlier this week (see today's Newsday on that: http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-usdrug092455941nov09.story ). Now the same Congress that saw fit to dole out billions to save the airlines industry and insurance providers refuses to allocate a single dime to offset the costs the public health system has incurred. Worse, they want to strip public health of some of its core functions out of a combination of ideological and cost-control intentions. Of course you never know how things are going to turn out in the long run. Surprises always lurk around the horizon. Take Mike Bloomberg, for example. When he won the mayoral election in New York on Tuesday the omens were abysmal. We knew little about the man, actually, but assumed that an individual who was worth more than $4 billion, ran as a Republican and was prone to issuing off-the-wall comments would prove a disastrous Mayor. But today Bloomberg met with trade union leaders, wowing them from the Bronx to Staten Island, and leaving everyone convinced that he is a Republican in name, but a liberal Democrat in his heart. Stunned New Yorkers learned he intends to reject most of Giuliani's agenda and appointees in favor of a broad coalition of officials, including some who traditional Democrats would consider too left wing. You never know what surprises might lurk around the corner. This evening, for example, the great German choreographer Pina Bausch was performing a new two-and-a-half-hour piece at the Brooklyn Academy of Music entitled "Masurca Fogo". While it is true Bausch is one of the most avant garde and fascinating dance designers in the world today, and her pieces always wow BAM audiences, New Yorkers have remained in shock, we are told, disinterested in such abstractions. Nothing could be further from the truth. The sold out performance packed the Brooklyn Opera House's several thousand seats with the intelligentsia of New York who enthusiastically braved the subways and bridges, alleged terrorists and Ground Zero stench to make their pilgrimage to see Madam Bausch and her company of international performers. Bausch did not disappoint. Her dancers brought humor, innovation, beauty and stunning skill to make "Masurca" even better than Bausch's masterpiece, "Palermo". At the performance's conclusion the company danced a slow motion masurca, two-by-two across the stage in sultry, sexy movements. The men peeled off their shirts, the women unzipped their dresses, and then the couples fell to the floor in each other's arms. Three-dimensional screens surrounding the still dancers filled with breathtaking, sensual videos of enormous flowers blooming and shivering, while the Opera House filled with the resonant string flourishes of the Alexander Balanescu Quartet. After a few stanzas a single female dancer rose from the floor to perform amid the projected flowers, her arms reaching for love. The cry for love built, louder, more insistent, until suddenly the music stopped and the stage went black. And New Yorkers, hungry as they are for the taste of love, and the freedom to feel it, leapt to their feet, shouting "Bravo! Bravo!" and clapping madly for several bows. Germany's Bausch had found a way to open New York's heart. Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant. Laurie Garrett