Email from Caro: Florida 1

Fort Lauderdale was wet.  Very wet.  And that's where we were, holed up in our hotel room, with absolutely nothing to do or anywhere to go (it seems the entire town shuts down when it rains), waiting for a hurricane warning, when we heard about the attack on the World Trade Centre.  The hotel Tiki Bar was full of guests draining their glasses and watching with horrified expressions and shouting about retribution. All those working that day, were sent home, all businesses closed.  It was like an eerie 
ghost town. 
 
Symon, Sue, Luke and I had been there, literally 3 weeks before.  And in Washington.  It felt very surreal. The day we visited the WTC, we had explored the massive shopping mall underneath it.  People may also not realise, there was a huge underground railway station under the shopping mall as well, so there must have been commuters in tunnels at the time of the attacks.  Symon and I spent about 2 hours in Borders bookshop, buying guidebooks on Memphis and New Orleans, CDs and magazines.  We sat in the 
hot sun in front of the huge fountain in the plaza, watching the children running in and out of the water, while we waited for Sue and Luke to come back down from the top of the building.  Sue and her vertigo were not having the best time.  Luke ran all over the plaza taking photos from unusual angles.  
 
I can't remember if it was Sue or Luke who told me that the guy who took the tourists to the top of the building in the elevator, was called Angel.  It was kind of a funny name and it stuck in my head.  The day after the news hit, we bought the paper and there were three girls talking about having been to the Michael Jackson concert a few days before, and they had been up the WTC.  Angel had taken them up to the top.  A quote was "Unless he managed to get out, he'll be an Angel now, for sure."  So sad. 
 
However, after seeing the same scenes on 10 of the 11 channels on our TV, all day and all night, I was getting pretty fed up with the inane reporters asking stupid bloody questions of survivors, fighting for a scoop and a bit of airtime. Geez, there was such minute details being released that they even had an announcement that Burger King Headquarters are now closed. 
 
We've heard the stories about coverage in New Zealand and Scotland, and it is an awful thing to have happened.  
 
TV coverage has not ceased over here yet.  Sheryl Crow pops up on your telly, "Hi I'm Sheryl Crow...." and on she goes on and on in the most boring monotone ever about donating money.  I thought she was a rock singer for crissakes, where's the emotion, woman?  Everyone whipped out their Old Navy T shirts with the stars and stripes logo (usually for 4th July celebrations in Vegas wear only) and wore them.  Flags are stuck to cars.  Flags hang from balconies.  Shop windows are dressed in red white and blue.  The music in shops is that bloody awful "Proud to be an American" song.  Is there a less emotive song in the history of music? TV ads play "I am an American" showing university students of all races quoting those 4 words. Quotes are flashed at you intermittently by Abraham Lincoln and George W Bush.  Magazines and local papers devote entire issues to photos of the attacks. They've had a Telethon with all the major celebrities manning phonelines. 
 
So, continuing on: Jon Bon Jovi and Rickie Sambora ask you to phone 1-800-donation.  The President cuts into a programme to congratulate the Internet service providers for donating $77 million to the cause.  Then there was the rock concert, with all the stars singing - Willie Nelson is still alive.  Then Arnie "I'll Be Back" announces his donation of $1 million.  People armed with buckets harass you at the traffic lights for donations, all the shops have donations boxes.  Even scarier, we've seen T shirts with "Bin Laden: 
wanted Dead or Alive" being sold and posters of Bin Laden bullet-ridden and blood everywhere being sold. Then CNN, NBC, FOX and all the others started showing survivor stories and 1 channel is still running 24 hours and is now called "America on Alert".  Reports of Muslim groups on the West Coast who have had to chut down their websites due to hate mail and death threats.  A Sheikh was shot dead in Texas.  It's out of control. 
 
But, I actually thought Mayor Guiliani was a much better spokesman, releasing information, praising the rescuers, talking to people in the street, helping with rubble and talking sensibly to the nation. He has been fabulous. It's a shame he can't have a third term.  He's been really great. 
 
Anyway, sorry to bang on and on about it, you've probably heard most of this and have had equally the same amount of coverage we've had as well.  So, I shall move on to life in South Beach, Miami. In a word: Fabulous.  And hot.