Crisis interruptus
: Tonight, as I was about to get on a PATH train from Manhattan back to Jersey, I heard an announcement telling all the Port Authority agents to return to their headquarters. That’s when I knew there would be no New York subway-and-bus strike. Crisis over.
: I sense such disappointment on TV — such media schadenfreude — over the near-miss of the strike. They were all so ready for Team Coverage. This morning, reporters with visible breath stood on cold street corners using the verb form “would-” a lot as they talked about what would have been happening today if there had been a strike: This commuter train would be crowded; this bridge would be packed; these commuters would be harried. But they weren’t.