Steam pipe blast in Manhattan

[Overheard cell phone conversations after Wednesday's steam pipe explosion in Manhattan. It was a very panicked scene, especially at first, since no one knew exactly what had happened. -- John]

Angels in America

[Dear John -- Happy birthday! I wish you were here with me today. I'm sitting by the angel fountain in Central Park -- the one from the HBO series, "Angels in America." It is nice, calm, only the sound of running watter rippling down from the Angle's feet. Molly and I just had lunch at the opulent restaurant on the back of this card, called Tavern on the Green. Very Alice in Wonderland, I thought, just without the mad hatter. Flowers everywhere -- on the carpet, on the chairs, on the ceiling, outside. Unicorns in paintings. A literal hall of mirrors. It was a little much. But so over the top that it is also kind of magical. Love you, John]

Stonewall Inn, population six

[Dear John, Decades ago, this hotel, The Stonewall Inn, was the witness to a riot that spawned the gay rights movement. On the shadowy wall, protesters march for equal rights, holding signs and rainbow flags. But those days are history here, it seems. A friend told me that New York City's gay community doesn't frequent this area of town as much as it used to. Instead of having a geographic hub, gays in New York are spread out all over the place, he said. In many ways, I think that is a powerful victory. While gays are still discriminated against, they don't have to separate, isolate and alienate themselves from the rest of life and society. They, or we, are peppered in as part of the mosaic experience that is American life today. Well, at least here.]

Wall Street frenzy as Dow Jones racks up 14,000 points

[The energy and movement of this city are tireless.] [John]

Story Corps at Ground Zero

[Dear John, Below Ground Zero, in a transit center that is under reconstruction , NPR has one of its Story Corps booths. One story is on display. It's an older couple talking about their first date. Danny Perasa, the husband, says it probably gets old for him to say "I love you" to his wife all the time, after all of these years. It must be "like hearing a beautiful song from a busted old radio," he says. But the keeps saying it. And his wife will never stop loving to hear it. And so I'll say it, too. I love you. -- John]

Ground Zero: no info

[NYC -- Dear Mom, There is shockingly little information to be found at Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A sense of emptiness and confusion hangs over this place, while Wall Street buzzes a block away. But no facts. Where were the buildings that were hit? How is the construction of the memorial and "Freedom Tower" going? No signs tell visitors. No informational pamphlets are available. An info booth stands near the wreckage turned construction site, and it is plastered with patriotic quotes and pump-up statements about the future of Ground Zero. The place seems devoid of the human emotion that haunts that day in September, 2001. And now Michael Chertoff is using his "gut" feelings to scare us that this type of event will happen again. I just hope his place soon gets the dignity it deserves. -John]

64 oz. to freedom

needed a masking tape redo for this one ...
[Brooklyn--Dear John -- Walking through the chicken coop that is the line to The Cyclone roller coaster, Molly and I considered the lunch we had just eaten: hot dogs, fries and a 64-ounce old-fashioned lemonade. Probably not a good idea before getting on a roller coaster that, according to local legend, caused a mute man to say, "I feel sick" when he exited the ride. At the end of our ride, I was too dazed to talk. Molly said, "Get me out of here." A worker asked, "Ride again? 4 dollars?" No thanks, but it was a cool experience. And no more hot dogs for the day either. Love, John]

The Cyclone, at Coney Island

[BROOKLYN -- Dear John -- Before riding "The Cyclone," Coney Island's famous wooden roller coaster, I saw a souvenir that proudly proclaimed, "I survived The Cyclone." I thought it was stupid. Until I rode The Cyclone. Its near-century old frame shakes now -- a lot -- as the ride yanks you down hills and wrenches your neck sideways around turns. The ride is loud, it's fast, it's obnoxious, it's old, it's vulnerable. It's America. And, at this moment, I love it.]