Waking to the news that the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York had been hit by hijacked airliners was
nothing short of surreal. Walking to work past a panelbeaters that usually has music booming out of it, I catch the
words "...meters tall, have just collapsed".
People I pass in the street avoid eye contact or make it briefly and look away - usually people say hullo if they catch
your eye. As the news of the damage - and its seeming progression towards the West Coast - grows, buildings in San
Francisco are closed and schoolchildren there are being sent home.
No doubt you have a better idea about what is going on than I do, because I'm sitting at a non-media-enabled computer so
can't watch CNN online, but the one thing I did see on TV that informs my opinion of these events is an interview on
last night's "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" about the UN Conference Against Racism. You can read the transcript and hear the
audio at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/july-dec01/racism_9-10.html
Lea Barker
California
Tuesday 11 September, 9:25 a.m. PST