I picked a heckuva a day to make a book delivery in lower Manhattan. The temperature was fine, but the wind was crazy. I got off the train at Cortlandt Street to see how much progress had been made at Ground Zero. The main buildings are not far from completion. It's still not easy getting around. There are a lot of detours. Before the attack we used to cut through the World Trade Center's plaza to get to work. In '97, the trading floor moved from Four World Trade to One North End just at the foot of the bay, overlooking Jersey, the Statue of Liberty about a mile to the left.
I was a bit uneasy as I approached, although I've made two other visits since I got the boot 11/'07. The introduction of electronic trading has changed the business dramatically, eliminating most of the middle men who transacted customer orders, the clerks who worked for them, and the Exchange personnel who recorded the trades. At least 80% of the floor's population has moved on. I don't miss the job the way so many of the personnel do, but I do miss the people. I knew so many on a first name basis. I didn't go into the building. It's history and I want to keep going forward. I suppose, too, I did not want to see a certain someone I ate my heart out over for a long time. So I stood out in the howling wind, which is always more ferocious down there. I remember a few times struggling to get to the door. Fortunately the sunshine mitigated the effect somewhat. It was great seeing old friends again. Joe's son is married and in the Air Force, and his baby is half way through college. I remember when they were born. Gene is looking for a job as a youth counselor. Dougie is scrambling to make ends meet, as most of the clerks are - this in a place that was once awash in cash. Everyone I spoke to laments what the place has become. I worked data entry for the Exchange. Last week there were more cuts. They came out of the blue, completely without warning, unlike in the past when "privileged information" would come down the pipeline. It was the most loosely run ship imaginable. Now everyone is looking over his/her shoulder. There are cameras and mikes everywhere. The head of security was let go in the latest purge.
I was out there about two hours before I was approached by a guard, who questioned me, although the others had seen me exchange hugs and kisses with many who exited the building. He did not ask me to leave, but it made me uncomfortable. That and the fact that I was feeling the cold soon sent me on my way. The only disappointment of the day was not seeing an old buddy with whom I had lunch thousands of times in the 24+ years I spent at the Exchange. He was always so conscientious and might have been leery of leaving his post. I thank B, whose desire to purchase Killing led me there, and to three other sales. It was great seeing his lovely wife, who went back to work a year or so after their son was born. She was one of the few asked to return.
I guess Tiger Woods is not through. Does Tim Tebow play golf? Can the press figure an angle that would have him challenging Tiger?
I just read an interesting piece at Yahoo News. The lovely January Jones, one of the stars of Mad Men, recently gave birth and consumes her own placenta in capsule form. A woman described it as "happy pills." Most species eat placenta as a form of nutrition, but a doctor quoted in the article scoffed that it was unnecessary for humans, who have no shortage of food and vitamins. All together - ewwww!
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