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the Field |
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 SCREAM!
SCREAM FOR YOUR LIVES!
ANTHRAX IS LOOSE IN THE THEATER!
By Michael Wilk
Fear does strange things - Philip Coolidge in William
Castle’s ‘The Tingler’ |
In 1959, gimmickmeister William Castle lensed his now-legendary
camp horror film "The Tingler", which deals with a parasitic
creature that dwells in people’s spinal columns. It thrives
on fear. In fact, it can kill you, and the only way to keep
this deadly nuisance in check is to scream. Deaf mute Judith
Evelyn can’t scream, and dies, her spine snapped by "The Tingler."
Pathologist Vincent Price removes the "Tingler" from her corpse,
but the powerful critter breaks out of its cage, and is on the
loose in a theater. Price alerts the patrons of the theater
with the gentle warning, "Scream! Scream for your lives! The
Tingler is loose!" Havoc ensues. Now, after that little piece
of film history, let’s get on with the story: Trick or treat!
I haven’t received my "free" cipro or doxycycline yet. Actually,
I don’t know when or if I will ever get my "free" cipro or doxycycline.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with yours truly, let me
explain: I have been employed by the United States Postal Service
since 1979.
Almost 2 weeks ago, in the midst of the "Anthrax terror" that’s
been on everyone’s mind, Anthrax spores were discovered in 4
barcoding machines in the Morgan General Mail Facility in Manhattan,
just one block away from the James A. Farley Building, where
I work. I haven’t "worked the mail", as they say in USPS lingo,
for nearly 20 years. I worked the "graveyard shift", as a general
clerk, 12 midnight to 8:30 am, from 1979 to 1982. I then applied
for a position in the art department, which is a more "normal"
shift, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. I have been
there ever since.
In my mind, my chances of coming in direct contact with Anthrax-contaminated
mail are fairly slim. I don’t handle mail other than my own,
which I retrieve from my mailbox in the evenings. However, there
is a chance that some of my mail may have been processed at
the Morgan Facility, which has become a hotbed of debate between
the Postal Workers’ Union and Management. Cartloads of mail
do travel, on occasion, from the Morgan facility to the James
A. Farley Building. William Smith, the president of the New
York branch of the American Postal Workers’ Union, of which
I am a member, wants the Morgan facility shut down. The Postal
Workers’ Union and Management are now slugging it out in court
over this matter. Mailhandlers, Carriers, and Clerks are very
nervous and angry over the way the crisis has been handled,
and I can’t say that I blame them. After all, they are the ones
handling the mail, and the possibility of coming in direct contact
with Anthrax-tainted mail is a very terrifying possibility.
Two postal workers in Washington, DC did, and now they are dead,
the result of inhalation Anthrax. Not a nice way to go.
Two weeks ago, reading matter about Anthrax was distributed
to all postal workers, we were given talks by our supervisors,
and were informed that "free" cipro or doxycycline was going
to be distributed at the medical unit. I had Friday, October
26 off, which I took as a "vacation" day. It turns out that
that particular Friday was the day that the antibiotics were
distributed, so when I inquired about it the following Monday,
I was told that "it was all gone", and that my immediate supervisor
would inform me when more would be available. Several of my
co-workers, beside myself, are still waiting. I’ve become an
expert at waiting. I’m even a little leery about taking the
antibiotics. I have been advised by many not to take them unless
I feel ill, otherwise they may not be effective if and when
I am exposed to you-know-what.
I’ve begun to experience a kind of transient "creeping terror"
this past week, which I try to beat down with feelings of optimism
and "positive thinking". I’m not quite sure how much success
I’m going to have, but I’m trying. Last week’s big Daily News
cover story was (no surprise here) about a new Anthrax victim,
a woman who worked in the stockroom at the New York Eye and
Ear Hospital, located on the Upper East Side. She had been diagnosed
with inhalation Anthrax, the deadliest form of the disease,
and has since died. Now I, as well as millions of other New
Yorkers, am beginning to feel like this invisible killer is
spreading. Who will be next? Where? Will it be a housewife in
Queens? A letter carrier in Staten Island? A store clerk in
Brooklyn? Will I open a letter laced with Anthrax? I had a sneezing
fit last week, and I began to wonder. Why does Edgar Allan Poe’s
"The Masque of the Red Death" come to mind? And to top it off,
there were warnings about possible terrorist attacks the week
of October 29. Where will they happen? When will they happen?
How will they happen? I can feel "The Tingler" creeping up my
spine already. Trick or treat.
About the Author
Michael Wilk is a 44 year old graphic artist, and is employed
by the United State Postal Service in Manhattan, where he has
worked for the past 22 years. He lives in Howard Beach, Queens,
approximately 5 minutes away from JFK Airport. |
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