Freeze Frames

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief...

And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

TS Elliot, The Waste Land.

Some parts of life were conducted in freeze frames. This was one of them. He would remember every last frame, the lurching reality. The lift door opened and he took in the scene immediately. Briefly the tableau of ambulance officers and police looked him back. Someone looked like they were going to ask him what he was doing there. He did his disappearing act; blending into the walls, hoping it would work even in these exposed circumstances. They seemed to forget him as soon as they had noticed him.

He was shocked by the extent of the damage. He could see holes through several walls, there were broken bricks everywhere and furniture lying haphazard on its side. The phone went off, blowing his cover, and he clicked busy as quickly as he could. It was work, it was her, hounding him as always. He couldn't go through all this without support. He felt completely abandoned. For a moment he caught sight of the man on the floor. It was one of the most famous faces in the country.

His brain lurched into overdrive. Now he really did have reason to ring the office. Right now that was impossible. Without a photographer and without authority to be there, sooner or later he would have to extricate himself. The ruddy cheeks and well fed frame of a government employee. They were now intensely sought after jobs; the only guarantee of comfort and wealth. And this man had been at the pinnacle; his own personal fiefdom of power and wealth while all around the streets turned into chaos and hell; the people hungrier and more desperate every day since he economy collapsed.

THE BIGGER STORY:

Iranians Condemn US Reception of Leader


Tuesday September 25, 2007 8:01 PM

By NASSER KARIMI

Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iranians on Tuesday called the combative introduction of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the head of Columbia University ``shameful'' and said the harsh words only added to their image of the United States as a bully.

In a region where the tradition of hospitality outweighs personal opinions about people, many here thought Columbia University President Lee Bollinger's aggressive tone - including telling Ahmadinejad that he exhibited the signs of a ``petty and cruel dictator'' - was over the top.

``The surprising point of the last night meeting is the behavior of the university president,'' state-run radio reported, describing Bollinger's introduction as ``full of insult, which was mostly Zionists' propaganda against Iran.''

The chancellors of seven Iranian universities issued a letter on Tuesday to Bollinger saying his statements were ``deeply shameful'' and invited him to Iran.

In the letter, they asked him to respond to 10 questions ranging from: ``Why did the U.S. support the bloodthirsty dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war on Iran?'' to ``Why has the U.S. military failed to find al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden even with all its advanced equipment?''

Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly has created a stir and thousands have protested his appearance there.

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