Today, when I was leaving the office building to go to lunch, I saw that the freight elevator lobby was sealed off by police. Yellow police tape was strung in front, several police officers guarded the entrance, and little yellow numbered “tents” about four inches high were scattered around the floor. I asked what had happened; there was a shooting at 11:20 AM. Four shots were fired, an apparent armed robbery. Luckily, nobody was hurt.

It was nice to have a little excitement that wasn’t related to terrorism. It wasn’t an attack, it wasn’t a bomb scare, it wasn’t another anthrax letter clearing out an office building. It was a simple armed robbery, a simple shooting. Maybe New York is getting back to normal.

I went out, got my lunch, came back to the office, ate at my desk, and then continued working as I would have any other day. Nobody ran screaming from the building, nobody went home for the day. It’s just one of the things that makes New York City different.