Lileks on non-rioting New Yorkers

The Fox news guy was outside Penn Station, where thousands of people were - brace yourself - patiently waiting for electricity to return. He seemed a little annoyed that there wasn’t a brawl or a riot. I’m sure no one was happy to be standing there in the dead black dark, but what could you do? Stick someone up, take his credit cards and fashion them into a small portable fan? Stab someone in the foot, and hop he hops around and creates a small breeze? Set yourself on fire to take your mind off the hunger? He corralled a couple of New Yorkers off the sidewalk, wisely ignoring the three shiny-faced moth-balls behind him who were drawn to the camera light. Two women, one of a certain age, the other in her thirties. The first woman was a leathery old bird with a big smile and a shade of lipstick no one’s seen since Gimbels had a close-out in the late 40s. She took it all in stride. “It’s an adventure,” she smiled, shrugging. And then she added: “And who needs it.”

I saw the same segment on Fox and that woman’s reaction was priceless: she had this huge “I’m-gonna-be-on-TV!” grin on her face. You go girl!