Last night, we went to the Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I kept thinking of paulapalooza and my failure to get my lazy ass out of bed to see her when she last visited the Cathedral. The Cathedral is a massive, awe-inspiring space--a great setting for "Fanfare for the Common Man," selections from Il Trovatore, and the "Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. All in all, a good way to finish the year.

Interspersed among the musical performances were readings by elementary school children on the subject of peace. One second-grader read a short piece that spelled out "peace." I don't remember the whole thing, but it went in part:

"E" is for everybody taking care of me...
"A" is for another person taking care me...
"C" is for cops taking care of me...

Hearing that (during which a child therapist with us leaned over and said "that kid needs therapy") after being searched to enter a church and seeing news reports of snipers and other precautions in Times Square, I became increasingly aware that people are really taking the whole notion of terrorist threats seriously. There are actually people in New York who are afraid of terrorism--people who live in fear--and it seems to be especially affecting children. I'm kind of shocked. I'm not saying another terrorist attack is impossible, but I can't bring myself to get too worked up about it. I'm far more worried about drunk drivers, being run over crossing the street, or falling onto subway tracks, and I'm not really very worried about those either. I guess the terrorists (or, more likely, the cynical politicians seeking to exploit the threat of terror) haven't beaten me yet.