As the bass-enhanced computer generated male voice narrated the program, Shana's eyes did their familiar droop, close, open then close. This went on for about 3 minutes, and she then started her nap for the night. I watched the years roll by, marked by events.
In 2014, the riots came. People, especially free people do not riot often and not with the carelessness of angry mobs in other parts of the world. The demonstrations came first. In February 2014, after the State of New Jersey hamstrung itself and sided closely with the Feds. They barricaded the George Washington Bridge, the Fresh Kills Crossing from Staten Island and the tunnels on February 3rd. As of that moment, no one could leave PONY by car to enter New Jersey. New York State did its part by setting up roadblocks on I-95 north and the New York Thruway. Makeshift checkpoints were put in place in the middle of the night on Sunday, so come Monday morning, this show of force would darken the dawn of all those secessionists.
The documentary continued, albeit dwelling a bit too much for my liking on the negative images. That year, 2014, was the toughest year of my life. I had lived through personal tragedies and been brushed with fate on some national or international disasters, but never had I lived in fear.
February came and went, PONY retreated within itself and thumbed its collective noses at the loss of transit and commerce with the United States. People sucked it up. There were lots of rallies. Lots of publications making me think back to the days of Hamiliton and his Post during the run up to the Revolutionary War. All the debate after the war, the Federalist Papers and the hotbed of debate in Lower Manhattan. This was the same thing again. Even though 200 plus years had passed and the population was ten times more, people cared. They really cared about the future and the ideals. More than the hunger in their bellies and the loss of some freedoms.
However, as is human nature, we are impatient and aggressive creatures. As March poured on and the shelves started to empty, the price gouging started. I could never understand how a human being could take such advantage of another via bleeding them of money for food. But it did happen. Women started to panic first. They wanted to retain their lifestyle of living in the most culturally and economically advanced city in the world. They wanted to continue to get their nails done, wear the latest fashions and dine out regularly. Men wanted the same thing, but as men are builders and visionaries, women are nesters and what was happening in early spring 2014 was a tearing down of the nests.
It seemed that Warner's plan might work. He was betting on Civil War strategies from Lincoln's time. Blockade the South, cut off luxury goods, food, news and hope. Then fight the armies on the field and win or lose, the South was always losing something, every day.
As the trucks, trains and flights were stopped from crossing PONY borders, which were never defined by us, just by the surgery of the US Army, the New Jersey and New York National Guard and the State police of both states, the temperature in the streets began to rise. The main problem was also our main salvation. The NYPD and FDNY we all locals. It was like having a real fighting force that cared about every block, every person, every law. The did create a problem. The Police started to stay home to serve their own families.
At this point, there was no Council and the current government of New York City was still serving to manage the vertical beaurocracy. Decisions need to be made, responses to the Feds need to be co-ordinated, paychecks needed to be cut, fires put out, literally, and negotiations needed to go on with multinational corporation to enlist their support. It was a painfully slow victory to report that Wall Street would retain its power in the world, and how that really wouldn't help stock the shelves of the local supermarket.
People had to supplant their fear with vision for a brighter future. The Mayor came on New York 1 just about every day giving an update on critical events and issues. The program showed one particular episode...