Posted on 10/18/2001 9:45:10 AM PDT by Jakarta ex-pat
"Execute every act of thy life as though it were thy last." Marcus Aurelius.
My doctor started smoking again. As a resident of Manhattan, she has frequently expressed realistic concern about reports of asbestos and other pollutants that may be in the air. My reminder that her renewed smoking habit, which began around 11 September and has since climaxed to a pack a day, could prove equally hazardous to her health, was met with mixed reaction.
My sister is lactose intolerant, but is systematically working her way through all Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavours. As of Friday, she's made it to the Ns, giving a rousing thumbs up to New York Super Fudge Chunk.
My friend James, a writer who makes Woody Allen's idiosyncrasies appear normal, has enough Cipro stocked in his apartment to service most of the Upper East Side. He scoffed at my recent suggestion that he needn't wear his gas mask all the time, particularly during meals, and accused me of not caring about his welfare.
As for me, I haven't ridden the subway for four weeks, and I ate a cheeseburger. Unimpressive to most, except that I've been a vegetarian for 15 years. During most of last week, while the media continued to report the unrelenting threats and chances of further terrorist attacks (100 per cent, to be exact), and our country's unpreparedness for biological attacks (I know I wasn't alone when I hoped the terrorists were not watching the news), we were encouraged to get back to "normal".
Although "normal" existed only a short month ago, today it seems a fuzzy and incomprehensible. On 10 September, the President's approval rating was the lowest of his presidency, around 46 per cent. Since 11 September, it's been hovering steadily around 90 per cent. Water-cooler discussions of Gary Condit's sex life, and possible scenarios of what happened to Chandra Levy, have been replaced by discussions of foreign affairs and scenarios of future attacks and bio-terrorism.
Our summer obsession with Rudy Guiliani's personal life seems a lifetime ago, as he is now recognised only for his leadership and guidance during our darkest days. Rumours of Rudy's personal affairs and speculation about his tenuous political future have been replaced with rumours of his promotion to director of the CIA. While many of his sharpest critics during his divorce were women, rumour has it that many now find him sexy.
Life sure can change in the drop of a dime. In a city already known for its excess, everything from shopping to sex, from chocolate to Valium, has sharply increased during the last four weeks – not necessarily in that order, and not mutually exclusively. According to one survey, 46 per cent of Americans have reported an increase in sexual activity, many engaging in what is affectionately referred to as "End of the World Sex."
These are the toughest of times. Like everyone else, I want things to go back to normal. I don't want to panic every time I hear the roar of a plane, which in the past would have remained a small part of the wonderful symphony of sounds that make up the city. I don't want to be suspicious of people of different ethnicities and cultures, and I don't want to feel fear and uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring. But, in the words of Scarlett O'Hara, "I won't think about that now. I'll think about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day!"
Perhaps the best advice is to live each day like there is no tomorrow. But on the good chance that tomorrow will arrive, maybe we should cut down on the junk food and smoking, and reach for a cup of camomile tea instead of a Valium.
While the cheeseburger was a one-shot deal for me, I'm definitely sticking with the bus. It offers a great view of this amazing city and proof it's still standing strong. And so are we.
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