9/11/01

n anniversary can be sweet or solemn, but either way, it is only the echo, not the cry. From this distance, we can hear whatever we are listening for. We can argue that Sept. 11 changed everything—or nothing. The country is more united, and less; more fearful and more secure, more serious and more devoted to American Idol. It is like looking at your child's baby pictures. You know exactly who it is: every feature …showed first 75 words of 1547 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1547 total…to be a part-time unit, now has more money than it knows what to do with. The fire chiefs have stormed the attics of the capital's municipal firehouses, dug the cold war-era Geiger counters out of their green canvas bags—some still bearing the old Civil Defense logo—and shipped them off to New Jersey for recalibration. Some of the counters' handbooks are dated 1963. All that's missing is a solemn voice intoning, "Everyone, remain calm."