Code What?

If I got my news from any source other than Yahoo!, I might know this, but is there currently a high terror alert for New York City? Because my neighborhood has been crawling with police this week. I mean, traveling on foot in packs of three, posted on street corners, squad cars everywhere. Last night ten of them passed me, lights blazing, sirens blaring. I heard one of the officers on foot explain that they’re a special anti-terrorist squad that travel around the city. I, personally, am choosing to believe last night was just a drill. The good news is that when I went walking at 10:30 Saturday night, I felt really, really safe.

I like the police way better than the National Guard. (Yes, these are actually distinctions that need to be made in a 21st-century New York City.) When you see a lot of cops around, you can just tell yourself, “See? Look how safe we are? All that extra security.” Besides, police are at all sorts of fun stuff. Like parades. And carnivals. And high school dances. And who doesn’t love those things?

But in the first couple years after 9/11, when there were still National Guardsmen everywhere, there was just no way for me to rationalize that into a good thing. And I can rationalize anything. There’s no way to spin the guy next to you in camouflage, carrying a shotgun, into anything other than, “Dude. We really are fucked, aren’t we?”