“Safe Or Not Safe?”

Today’s “frequent flyer” in the New York Times is FNC’s Steve Harrigan. He begins:

“You know you’re a frequent flier when you wake up and don’t remember where you are. You have to look at the hotel phone to figure it out. I’ve had to do that a time or two.

But as a war correspondent, my first question in the morning isn’t, ‘where am I?’ It is: ‘safe or not safe?’

I can tell by the sheets. Clean white sheets mean ‘safe.’ You turn in them, hear them rustle, look at them and you know you’re all right. Maybe you’re close to a war zone, like Iraq or Congo, but the hotel is out of harm’s way, and there is nothing to worry about.

Dirty sheets — or no sheets — means you’re in trouble. You’re on a dirt floor of a hut in Afghanistan, waking up to the sounds of Kalashnikovs, rocket-propelled grenades or car bombs.” Here’s the rest…