Monday, September 15, 2003

Look, It's A Bomb

Last Wednesday, during my trip to SF, Debra had to work so I decided to go to MOMA in SF to see the Marc Chagal exhibition. Unfortunately MOMA is closed on Wednesday. So I went to lunch at the Thirsty Bear and enjoyed grilled shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo) and a selection of cheeses with fruit and some delicious sangria. Then I went across the street to the Yerba Buena Gardens and sat in the sun reading Memoirs of a Geisha (great book!). I went into the Sony Metreon to look around and then it was time to pick Debra up at the Caltrain. As I left the building I heard someone over the loud speaker saying "Please evacuate the park there has been an emergency". Everyone was streaming out of the park and the nearby buildings. I asked another passerby what was going on and she said there was a bomb scare! So I hurried toward the parking lot to get my car and get the heck out. I marveled that unlike me, most people were gathing in groups as close as they could get the to the scene - as close as the police and fire personnel would let them. There were firetrucks and police cars and a bomb truck.

It turned out to be a hoax but I still wondered at people wanting to be near the "action". Having experienced the Henderson Pepcon explosion and seen the damage that blast waves caused miles from the explosion, I had no desire to be near if there really was a bomb.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

yeah we had a bomb threat at our school. we stood outside for like and hour and a half,but they didnt tell us what was going on until we went inside. it was weird
-Allie

Anonymous said...

I work across the street from a government building. Most of it is devoted to juvenile court and family court. Periodically, they get a bomb threat. The people all exit the building and stand as close as possible to the doors so they can quickly get back in when the threat proves false. Everyone assumes there is no real threat because, so far, no bomb has ever been found. Maybe there are some people who go far away but I haven't seen them (my window overlooks their doorway). Do you suppose that social pressure forces some people to stay close when they really want to go far away, in case it's a real bomb this time? Might some people one day get blown up because they didn't want to look silly by taking the threat seriously?
-John