What's going to happen? I asked. Why is everyone here?
Just wait, my mother said. Watch the skyline.
And then, without warning, the entire skyline of New York erupted into glorious light: dazzling, glittering, throbbing in triumph. And the crowds on the rooftops roared. They were roaring on roofs all over Brooklyn, on streets, on bridges, the whole city roaring for light. There it was, gigantic and brilliant, the way they said it used to be: the skyline of New York. Back again. On D Day, at the command of Mayor LaGuardia.
On the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, people stared at the spot where the two towers had been. In some cases, they stared where they thought the towers had been. They had never bothered, never needed, to note their actual location, and now they could not remember.
Park Slope, today. My apartment is usually under a flight path for LaGuardia Airport. Today it is under a flight path for the President's security detail. At least four loud jets, circling the city in pairs.
. . .
9.13.2001
Manhattan Bridge. Usually people are too jaded to check out the view of lower Manhattan as the Q train goes over the bridge. Now, everyone looks, to see the smoke, and to see what isn't there.
. . .
New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation; and better than most dense communities it succeeds in insulating the individual . . . against all enormous and violent and wonderful events. . . .
I am not defending New York in this regard. Many of its settlers are probably here merely to escape, not face, reality. But whatever it means, it is a rather rare gift, and I believe it has a positive effect on the creative capacities of New Yorkers — for creation is in part merely the business of forgoing the great and small distractions.
I wrote a story for the NYT's Circuits section: Weary of Gadgetmania? Just Dial M for Mockery. It's about a guy who built a cell phone into a steam iron. The phone looks like this. The story, written two weeks ago, has very little to do with anything. At this point, that may be a reason to read it.
WHAT This is a site by David F. Gallagher. It has no business model, but it does have some photos I have taken. New ones are added on a fairly regular basis.
WHO
I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. I'm a freelance writer and editor specializing in Internet and technology news. You can read most of my articles on the Web.
HOW
This page is made with a digital camera, Photoshop, Stickies and Blogger, in that order.
WHY
Because self-publishing is the best thing about the Web.
PLUS
This site also features some odd photos I took in Japan and some pictures of the TWA Terminal at JFK.
LOST
Perhaps you are looking for information about The Lightning Field by Walter De Maria. Perhaps you want to go there. You should. Or perhaps you are looking for someone else.
