"In the days after September 11, I wrote: The top edge of a dumpster at a construction site outside Union Square is lined with lit candles. In the square itself, small white tents house volunteers who shout to the waiting crowds what supplies are needed. Very soon a line of people forms with their arms full of plastic bins and shopping bags, delivering their donations. Through the foggy plastic container, the folded, cantaloupe-colored towels are the same color as the candles on the dumpster ledge, and I cling to this color as some argument for optimism."