BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...

Subject: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 05:17 PM

I had an unsettling reaction this morning. Made me realize that I'm more tense than I knew- and I would guess that I'm not alone.

I was outdoors with my little dog when a neighbor came by on her way home. She said that at the end of the street is a police officer who is advising people in the neighbor to remain in their houses, because there is "someone very distraught they're searching for."

When she said that we're being advised to stay in our homes, my knees went liquid and my stomach rose into my throat. As soon as she said wwhy I was OK, except for a little residual quiver in my knees.

I would guess that in this country, at least, we're anticipating some really nasty stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 05:19 PM

Gee, and I thought this was going to be about waiting for Mudcat to load, knowing the (now several times a day) error message was coming.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: DougR
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 05:23 PM

Ebbie: are the terrorists invading Alaska? Gee, I sure hope we are guarding the Anwar! We need the oil! :>)

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 05:38 PM

Oh ho ho, DougR! Ofer my det potty! :)

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 05:44 PM

I think I found the distraught person.... if he was a big black guy with a death wish, I held his wrist together this morning, waiting for an ambulance..... I thought it took it's own sweet time getting to East London, UK!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 06:24 PM

So the ambulance came 'round to East London via Alaska, USA?   We have public services pretty much like that, too .

Haven't found my distraught person yet. Expect it will be covered in the paper tonight.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 06:40 PM

I suppose it's possible "really nasty stuff" might be liable to happen to people in the States, or in Britain.

But I'd say that's a pale shadow of what ordinary people in Baghdad, say, have to worry about.

What with the four-minute warning all these years, and the IRA bombs, with the searches and all, people over here are a bit more used to living with the possibility of that kind of stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 06:51 PM

I know, McGrath, and the knowledge makes me feel cowardly. On the other hand, I suppose that we - meaning, humans- react pretty much the same, and if the time comes that we have the same situation here that they have in so many other parts of the world we too will somehow cope.

It's also not exactly cowardice, either, I think; it's uncertainty, and that uncertainty will not go away in my lifetime, I should imagine.

My point is simply that I was surprised to discover that I had a visceral, physical reaction to a simple statement from the woman. In the past, I would not have had that reaction.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 07:20 PM

No way is it cowardice, it's unfamiliarity. It's not part of ordinary life for you, because it never has been before.

I always remember how at the time of the Cuban missile crises there was all this stuff in the papers about Americans being really worried about the idea of being only a few minutes aways form a possible nuclear attack. In Europe we'd been used to living with that for years.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Ebbie
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 08:49 PM

Thanks, McGrath. Weird world, innit.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: *daylia*
Date: 14 Jan 03 - 10:29 PM

I know the feeling, Ebbie, and it's not my favorite!

I just try to remember that everything is unfolding exactly as it must, and that no matter what happens 'I' will always be just fine! The divine 'I', that is! :-)

daylia

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 12:43 AM

The first time something like that happens, it bothers you, maybe a lot, maybe not. The twentyeth time, you just wait for the details.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 02:00 AM

Then there is the 'don't bother me, I'm too busy to care about what is happening to others' attitude that really bugs me. It's the 'walk on by on the other side, not in my back yard' approach that has done so much damage to trust, community and environment.

Thank the Deities that isn't always my attitude. And beseech the Deities to help me in the moments it is.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: DougR
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 11:47 AM

Oh Lord, libera me! I agree with one of McGrath's posts! The one on 7/14 at 7:20 P.M. Whatever will I do? Will wonders never cease? :>)

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: JennyO
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 12:11 PM

In many parts of the world, people have been living this way for a long time. We have been protected from it up till recently. I'll never forget the sinking feeling as the news was coming through about one plane crashing, then another, then another. It felt like the end of the world. And I was in Australia! I didn't sleep that night at all.

However life does go on and you have to live it as if everything is fine. I choose to be optimistic about the future, while taking care of the present, because that is all we have right now. I'm with Daylia - I trust that all is well with the divine "I".

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: DougR
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 12:51 PM

I'm with you Jenny, and also Kim.

My life hasn't really changed (except when I travel by air and that's no big deal)since 9/11. Perhaps if I lived in a East Coast city I might feel differently, but I still look at life as though it is a half filled, not half empty glass.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 01:36 PM

I still find myself thinking about the planes of September 11th every time I see an airliner roar overhead, especially when it intersects with a building. Not that I'm thinking "that might be a hijack-bonmb", or scared or anything, just that for me airliners now carry that day as part of their visual meaning. They've lost their innocence.

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: *daylia*
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 01:44 PM

I know what you mean McGrath. My 20 yr old son works for IBM in one of Toronto's downtown skyscrapers and I can the angst is almost tangible when we're down there and a jet passes overhead ... deep breath ... trust trust trust ... hope hope hope ...

Subject: RE: BS: Waitin' For the Other Shoe...
From: leprechaun
Date: 15 Jan 03 - 11:55 PM

Gee, I see distraught cops every day and it never bothers me.