Vince's office building is across the water, a giant nesting amongst the other Lower Manhattan giants, and it is still crippled by the flooding of its electrical innards by the salty storm surge of 14 days ago, that would have put the spot where he is standing to take this photo, quite underwater.
Consequently, his whole company has been relocated to temporary digs in Midtown, where their complicated system of telephone and computer interfaces cannot be replicated - the sophistication of before replaced by constant stress and furious activity. The people in charge of organizing the changes have aged, he says, by ten years. The website, the surface, works perfectly.
No one calling or emailing realizes that nothing is as before. But beneath that surface everyone is scurrying like ants in response to a pungent stream of gas poured into their nest, keeping one ant eye on the small and curious child approaching with lit match.
I am most glad that the Frenchman still has his job!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like only yesterday that the disaster plan at work was for my group of four to work off my dining room table, sharing my personal pc. In a way it was nicer when the expectation was that non-essential business would just close for however long it took. Noharm, no foul.
ReplyDeleteIn many ways out electronic aids have become our jailers.
Nice photo, Frenchman.
ReplyDeleteI checked out the Frenchman's website yesterday (I do periodicaly) and I love his most recent shots of NYC. I have to make it there someday!
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