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We'll Take Manhattan 
Remember Manhattan Woody wasn’t wrong Remember Manhattan Before you say so long Remember Manhattan What did Woody say He said, Remember Manhattan Before you walk away Remember Manhattan Remember Manhattan - Richard Marx & Fee Waybill I read your letter today and it was quite amusing and made me feel good that you know what you do out there in my job people respect it and get it. What people don't understand is that every city employee has been made responsible for its passengers everyday on its buses and trains. It takes a second to loose lives. So, thank you for that and I will show this to my boss and let him read it. Once again thank you for my one minute of fame... the bus driver lady Evelyn better known as E! THE Bus Driver Life is becoming normal. I don't say, "returning to normal", because I can't see us ever returning to the salad days of pre-September 11.  But we ARE settling down into everyday life and adapting to a new set of circumstances. We no longer feel so guilty if we have a good time, and old friends are meeting up again over dinner and a wine. There's a feeling of solidarity - the people-connection is coming back. Strangers are talking to each other again, on the buses, in lines at stores and subways. In the days immediately after the attacks, people stared ahead, avoided eye-contact as it the horror was too much to be shared. So this week we had dinner with friends, enjoyed the theatre and I received email from Evelyn, the bus driver from The Other Side of the Barricades. Life is improving but things have changed. The "look" of the city and its people is different. The New York uniform of shades and black is brightened by scarves of red white and blue, and sparking flag broaches (pins) or tri- color ribbons. Women tend to wear flat shoes, even on non-dress-down days. I assumed it was because of the long waits at bus stops, now crowded. Many people now avoid the subways, preferring to be able to see the sky of our gap-toothed city. I thought that was the only reason till a colleague told me she wore them as you now never knew when you'd have to run. But really, it isn't all that bad. We can now feel we are doing our civic duty when we patronize a restaurant or go to the theatre. People aren't storming pharmacies for Cipro as reported in some of the press stories in Australia. People are surprisingly calm. Although conversations usually contain some reference to the attacks, there are now other topics of conversation, and a definite determination to get back into the swing of things. Thoughts of September 11th cannot be too far away from our minds - the presence of the National Guards and police at major landmarks and bridges are constant reminders. Even the New York Marathon has had to adapt to the constant threat. Participants are advised not to take cups of water from spectators, and security will obviously be tightened. People living below 23rd street can smell Ground Zero. I asked a friend what it smelt like and her answer can back without hesitation - "Death". But while some people are fleeing the city, the majority of us will stay on. Tougher and more cynical, we are here for the duration.  "WIMPS!" screamed the New York Post in its typical cross between Murdoch sensationalism and New York wise-crack, when Pataki relocated from his office during an anthrax scare.And on TV, pondering news of yet another anthrax case, a well-groomed blonde anchor woman pondered, "I wonder if this is more of the work of Bin Laden and his gang". She sounded somewhat like the good little school girl having to put up with the naughty boys hiding out in the local cave. Annoying and snotty-nosed but more an ever-present nuisance rather than a serious threat. If only... One of the nicer qualities of New York has always been its tolerance of the wierd. Priding themselves on being unphased by anything, New Yorkers have been known not even to glance twice at people walking their pet llamas, or exhibitionists painting themselves green. The unbalanced have been tolerated and the homeless allowed to camp almost anywhere, But now the odd people of society are looked at with unease and suspicion. The trust in one's fellow man has suffered along with the New York ease and confidence. I think it will be a long time returning, but have a feeling that it will. New Yorkers are copers. We are not going to be beaten by a bunch fanatics hiding out in caves. Start spreading the news. Your Say
Vicki - ex New Yorker
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