Z-Dust and Orange Snow
Odds of dying in a terrorism attack on a mall , if malls are being attacked at a rate of one per month: one in 6 million. Odds of dying in an anthrax attack : one in 70 million. Ratio of general US population to die last year from smoking-related illness: eight in 5,500. Odds of dying in an automobile accident: one in 6,700. Odds of being mowed down by an automobile while standing at a bus stop: better than you'd think. A week ago Saturday, we sat in a cafe, Katie and me, ruminating on the absurdities of the week just behind us. We had been on heightened alert status for more than a week, and the first precip of a promised blizzard had begun to fall. It’s all been kind of touch-and-go here in our nation’s capital. Code Orange , mounds of snow, the constant, dull roar of fighter jets overhead--and love’s special day. With a rueful laugh, Katie relayed a snippet of a piece she had seen on a local newscast. The reporter was interviewing people in a grocery store check-out line...