NEW YORK, Sept. 11 – I could do without riding the subway. But it was creepy to see it closed. Can't say I like big crowds. But it made me sick to see them missing. I’m not a Times Square fan. But I hated to see it empty. And I never spent much time at the World Trade Center. But I’m miserable knowing I’ll never go there again.

Silence should be golden. But today’s quiet rush hour made me cry. As the sun set, I missed most what I had liked least. Amid that haunting plume of billowing smoke, I thought of those thousands who just lost the chance to feel annoyed, and remembered how lucky the rest of us are to find enough consistency to find it irritating.

A lot of things bugged me Monday. I wish they still did. If I could just dance the shag one last time to some vile disco hit at Windows On The World ... But like the city skyline I ignored, that shag is gone for good.