This was pretty much my exact reaction to events here in D.C.
yesterday. For the past week or so, I've heard MANY more sirens
than usual in my already siren-heavy neighborhood, plus choppers
overhead quite a bit. Yesterday I headed out on the bus to do my
grocery shopping. It took me three hours. Why? Well, I didn't
really know. 16th Street (major thoroughfare for those who don't
know the city) had at least three cops on every corner (usually
more) for several miles from downtown through Adams Morgan. One
park across from Sacred Heart church was just slathered with blue,
cops in rows waiting to be deployed. Parts of 16th were blocked off
(which I don't think I've EVER seen before) and police motorcycles
screamed the wrong way down the street. Our bus was rerouted. One
guy was on his cell phone to a friend who works for what sounded
like a local radio or TV newsteam, updating him on what he saw
outside the bus window. The rest of us were just muttering
anxiously.
You of course probably already know what the fuss was about: the
big anti-war demo here. Apparently they had a permit to march down
16th. But none of us on the bus knew, and so when we finally found
out, there was just this huge relief. Thank God, nothing's
"happened." "Happened" here has a technical meaning: some chunk of
my beloved hometown being destroyed or threatened.
And then, like the guy Patrick is quoting, I thought about
Baghdad.
Eve
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