brightnorm
Flashaholic
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2001
- Messages
- 7,160
I was coming home from shopping this afternoon in my urban neighborhood carrying two heavy shopping bags. As I rounded the corner to my street I saw yellow police tape preventing access to the street and sidewalk and two LEOs keeping people out. Both ends of the street were closed off and people said that two adjacent streets were also closed off.
Ever try to get accurate information from a crowd in this kind of situation?
"It's a bomb"..."it's terrorists"..."it's a terrorist bomb"...it's a biochemical device"..."it's a nuclear device"..it's a dirty bomb"...."Harry, what's a dirty bomb"?..."It's time to move out of the city"...etc. etc.
The officers were pretty close-mouthed but finally one said a "suspicious package" was found and had to be checked out. Within about 15 minutes we were given the all clear and normal life resumed.
Turns out the "suspicious package" was found right in front of my building and we were never told what it was. Even though this incident definitely got my attention I felt almost completely detached from potential danger; probably a protective reaction like the calm fatalism displayed by people living in earthquake zones or Israelis living with daily explosive death.
This war is different; it's HERE.
Brightnorm
Ever try to get accurate information from a crowd in this kind of situation?
"It's a bomb"..."it's terrorists"..."it's a terrorist bomb"...it's a biochemical device"..."it's a nuclear device"..it's a dirty bomb"...."Harry, what's a dirty bomb"?..."It's time to move out of the city"...etc. etc.
The officers were pretty close-mouthed but finally one said a "suspicious package" was found and had to be checked out. Within about 15 minutes we were given the all clear and normal life resumed.
Turns out the "suspicious package" was found right in front of my building and we were never told what it was. Even though this incident definitely got my attention I felt almost completely detached from potential danger; probably a protective reaction like the calm fatalism displayed by people living in earthquake zones or Israelis living with daily explosive death.
This war is different; it's HERE.
Brightnorm