Saturday, November 7, 2009

New York morning, 5:02.

For me there's nothing like the clarity of morning. Morning in LaGuardia. Perpetually dirty LaGuardia. With perpetually dull and deadened and surly employees. Lit with the dim light of depression.

Rubber gloved Transportation Security workers watching but never seeing. Flat panel TVs blaring the news of our latest mass-murders. The super graphics calling people heroes. Not recognizing the difference between heroes and heroism.

The Times reports 17.5 unemployed using a "broader measure." That's more than 1 in 6. 20 pages further in the paper another article talks of a Citibank bonus plan which will distribute millions of shares of stock options to retain its bankers.

It's mourning again in America.

4 comments:

Susan Ellis said...

Man, I think you should have stayed in bed!

Graham Strong said...

Last time I was at LaGuardia, Big Bird said goodbye to everyone in the terminal as he boarded the plane. Well, it was actually Carroll Spinney, but it was in his Big Bird voice.

It doesn't make up for everything, but it still counts for something, I think.

~Graham

Laura said...

More depressing news:
If receiving those big bonuses you write about isn't bad enough, apparently the bankers also received
early allotments of H1N1 vaccine.

jeaves said...

My only time through there a group of WWF wrestlers boarded with us. I realized I was bigger then all but The Big Show? He got first class, I was stuck at the back between two challengers who get paid to lose each week.

There was a lesson there I think.