Wall Street

With the exception of the sledgehammers and construction equipment and reporters, Wall St is rather a quiet place these days. Today, insofar as the time-space continuum did not implode, there was relative relaxation out on the street come Miller time, where until recently people have seemed amped up enough to pull out other peoples' hair along with their own.

Yesterday, in a sign of perhaps a new era dawning here in the estwhile capital of finance, there was a new truck on the corner on Wall and Williams Streets, a shiny red track, selling dumplings. This is indeed a new and welcome addition to the legions of schwarma carts ("white sauce, hot sauce, boss?") which grace the nabe. I have not yet had the dumplings, but you know I'm gonna.

There have been more tourists than ever here recently. If this drama follows the path of 9/11 and we end up with a big hole in the ground, perhaps people will come from MittelAmerika and gape at that crater and throw roses and American flags at it, with tears in their eyes and mustard on their pretzels.