Heroic Measures - Jill Ciment

•   Ever been to New York?  Never been to New York?  It doesn't matter at all which way you answer, for here is a joyous taste of Manhattan just for you - which doesn't involve fashion, concert halls, shows, Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, or even Grand Central Station.  It's a little bundle of small time real life, and it stars two elderly Jews and one elderly dachshund.
   
  Ruth and Alex Cohen are selling their apartment on the fourth floor of a block with no lift (elevator).  They are looking for an apartment in the same neighbourhood  that has one.  Not least because they are elderly but it would be nice to just get in the lift and go home, rather than drag yourself up four floors, wouldn't it?  So an open day for viewing their home is arranged, but not before Dorothy the dachshund has to be hospitalised and may not recover.  With the worry about the dog, they are not really interested in the viewers, and even when a bidding war starts, their concerns are with Dorothy;  and in any case, they haven't found a new place for themselves yet.   When they do  find just the place, overlooking a cemetery (such quiet neighbours!), they put in their bid.
   
  Whilst they are dealing with their own small (but the same as all of us) problems, New York is having a bad time of it when a petrol tanker is stuck, jammed across all lanes, in a tunnel and the driver is seen running away.  Is he a terrorist?  Don't worry, the networks will let you know!  Every channel is showing the same thing, every channel has a spokesperson with a slightly differing view, and in the meantime, Ruth and Alex have to get on with their life.