Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Things change ...
When you're away from your home country for nearly five years, you find yourself in what I think of as a Rip Van Winkle situation every now and again.
For the most part, my Rip Van Winkles have involved inflation; e.g., a lunch that cost $5 now costs $7 (or more!). I'm STILL getting used to that.
But, a couple of days ago I had a bit of cognitive dissonance. When I left my building for a lunch break, I could not help but notice the three SWAT-type police officers standing just outside. They were wearing helmets and carrying automatic rifles. As I walked through Times Square, I noticed more cops than I'm used to seeing normally.
Before I left New York, this usually meant something was up, like a major protest demonstration or a specific threat -- and the cops were there to handle it.
In separate conversations, I asked some of the cops and one of our building security guys what was going on.
It turned out that nothing was up. I was told that, these days, the city puts 100 or so cops into given areas every couple of days or so, so they can rapidly respond.
It's a measure that went into effect after 9/11. How smart and how sad.
For the most part, my Rip Van Winkles have involved inflation; e.g., a lunch that cost $5 now costs $7 (or more!). I'm STILL getting used to that.
But, a couple of days ago I had a bit of cognitive dissonance. When I left my building for a lunch break, I could not help but notice the three SWAT-type police officers standing just outside. They were wearing helmets and carrying automatic rifles. As I walked through Times Square, I noticed more cops than I'm used to seeing normally.
Before I left New York, this usually meant something was up, like a major protest demonstration or a specific threat -- and the cops were there to handle it.
In separate conversations, I asked some of the cops and one of our building security guys what was going on.
It turned out that nothing was up. I was told that, these days, the city puts 100 or so cops into given areas every couple of days or so, so they can rapidly respond.
It's a measure that went into effect after 9/11. How smart and how sad.
