July 10, 2006

A New York Explosion

Had a bit of a 9/11 moment at work this morning.

I was on the phone with someone in NJ, who told me that he just heard on the radio about a large explosion on East 62nd Street. Only nine blocks away.

A quick look at the NY Times and other websites showed tha the report was true, and that the four story building had actually collapsed. The sound of sirens could be heard from 36 floors below, and helicopters were heard from above.

Wasn't really scared, but I did make sure that I had my cell phone on me, and I did take my wallet and keys from the briefcase, so that I'd have them in case the building was evacuated.

I walked up to the area during my lunch break. There were firemen all over the place. The immediate block was cordoned off ; there was smoke in the air.

Well, this wasn't terrorism. It was a gas explosion that may have been precipitated by a suicide attempt by the building owner, who was going through a bitter divorce.

But I'm sure that I was not the only one whose thoughts ran to the possibility of terrorism, and the events of four years and ten months ago.

2 comments:

Antonio from Italy said...

It's not easy to live with this constant thought. But I think that whoever lived a tragedy in their lives will keep on living with the same thought and fear forever...
Whichever tragedy it was...

Anonymous said...

People have been saying for years that the divorce laws in this country which favor women need to be changed... and this is the result. The destruction of self and historical property is replayed almost every day thanks in no small part to the militant feminist agenda of the 1970s and the changes in American jurisprudence it pushed through... at no net benefit to society as a whole. Now this "gold digger" - and yes I do believe she is a gold digger because all divorcees are - is not going to get the house. I wonder if homeowner's insurance covers suicide attempts with gas that go horribly wrong (or right, whichever way you may prefer to look at it).

Viva la Revolucion!