WRITERS
The War at Home
by Robert Sopher
With great skill and cunning our nation's psyche and economy have been disrupted since Sept. 11 by a venal body of cowards. Our national conscience has been so affected that we have declared war on these brutal and medieval men. We fear more attacks and worry about the increased threat of bio-terrorism. Yet, we are still woefully vulnerable at our airports. The delay in federalizing airline security is criminal. Anyone can still walk in with a vast array of weapons.
Everywhere I turn in my neighborhood there are police stations from Krasnogorsk and firehouses with purple and black bunting indicating the loss of comrades. Families whose relatives were lost at the World Trade Center will be sadly reminded of their absence during the holidays.
There is, however, other insidious damage that has been wrought as a result of these attacks. While many businesses were able to relocate others are finished. There are some things about the former that need to be addressed. I will use my brother Dan as an example. At roughly 9am Sept. 11 Dan emerged from his train at One World Trade to find the building in flames, debris and bodies falling from high above him. He ran. Luckily he survived. But his ordeal has just begun.
The corporation that Dan works for relocated to New Jersey, Connecticut and midtown New York.. While he lives in northern New Jersey he was told to report to Connecticut. There were no arguments. His daily commute is now 3 hours each way up from 30 minutes each way before Sept. 11. His company decided that a ten year lease at $30 a sq. ft. was better than a shorter lease in New York at $90 a sq. ft. He and his co-workers are now given 30 minutes to lunch and have been told which train to take home. Dan has asked me if he should quit. I told him that there are no jobs to be had, and that quitting is probably what his company wants him to do. Furthermore, his company will not let him work at home.
A few weeks ago Dan left me a message indicating that he was at home. There had been an incident on his train. When I called him later that day he sounded shaken. He told me that someone had thrown themselves in front of an ongoing express train and had been killed. He called his office indicating what had happened and had work files sent to him at home. He was amazed at the amount of work that he was able to get done. But he keeps his mouth shut about working at home since this is not an option.
Dan is not alone. Thousands of people who survived have found themselves in the same egregious situation. Dan is happy to see his wife and hold his baby daughter at the end of a long day.
He soldiers on.
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