DAY SIXTY-EIGHT:Nov. 17:
George Carlin is on HBO tonight, live from the Beacon Theater in Manhattan. His take on September 11 is: "Pacifism is fine but it can get you killed. People just haven't evolved that fast. And let's face it: Evolution is slow, smallpox is fast!"Fair enough.
We went down to Ground Zero this afternoon. It was my first trip to terror central in some six weeks, and I was astounded by the change. Nearly every building in the financial district is cleaned up and back in business. The debris pile at Ground Zero has shrunk so dramatically that it's actually hard to se from the barricade viewing positions designated by the police. The acrid aroma, though present, is a faint vestige of its former self. Though smoke is still belching from the heap it is wispy and no longer causes any eye irritation. Now that the recovery operation has officially become a pure demolition activity the site looks like little more than a very large construction area.
The tourists, mixed with uptown New Yorkers, parade through the area in droves, hardly speaking, some tearing, many pausing to look at the teddy bears, notes and dried flowers festooned on the fences around Ground Zero. And throughout the area, speaking in dozens of languages and shades of English, are street venders, chanting their mantras:
"NYPD hats, $10!"
"American flags, one dollar, one dollar, one dollar!"
"World Trade Center photographs here! Get your World Trade Center photographs! Before and After!"
Every imaginable bit of memorabilia was available, sold by immigrants from Africa, Latin America, the Indian subcontinent, China, SE Asia and lord-knows-where-else. Illegal venders, all, their goods were conveniently displayed from the inside of velvet-lined suitcases that could be shut quickly in case of a raid by the sorts of cops that are supposed to shake down unlicensed sellers. Inside the cases were American flag watches, Old Glory jewelry "official" NYPD and FDNY hats, I (heart) NY tee shirts, arty photos of the World Trade Center, NYC post cards, toy model Manhattan skylines and souvenir books.
Though we still haven't a drop of rain, and the air is eerily dry, there is finally a touch of chill. It was gorgeous today, the air smelled --- WOW! It smelled like AIR. Though the wind was blowing from the west, Ground Zero's fires seem to have simmered down enough to allow normal scents in the air blocks away. It was possible to smell trees, flowers, perfume and after-shave on passersby and kitchen aromas from neighborhood bistros. The streets were full of strollers, shoppers and scooters. Recession or no, credit cards were waving, shopping bags were bulging and sales were well attended. My friend Ed E-mailed:
If the Kiehls counter at Barneys is indicative of anything, the word "recession" has not entered into our consciousness. Madhouse. Also, tons of people out shopping. Fifth Ave is jammed.
At the Brooklyn Academy of Music an experimental dance show was sold out, cheered and treated with the same sort of audience accolades the avant-garde gave to non-derivative choreography in this town during "normal" times.
Gosh, life may be back in New York. It's not the same life we had in "normal" times. But damnit, it's LIFE.
Be well. Stay safe. Stand defiant.
Laurie Garrett
