Wed Dec 28, 2005 at 06:38:57 AM PDT

I suppose I should begin by confessing that I'm a rather straightforward person. As a matter of fact this is why my friends like me. I tend to reduce things to the nitty gritty. I'm also sort of a no bullshit type of person. This used to be a positive character trait. Kind of just say something and move on. I try not to get twisted up like a pretzel over inane nonsense.

The reason I bring this up is because I'm confused.  The commander in chief has been telling us for as long as I can remember that, "we're at war."  I listen to his urgent  words and I see people fighting and getting killed and I wonder, but I'm not at war.

What Mr. Bush says must be true, but I don't see any signs of this where I live. What are you seeing?

Like most Americans, I'm eager to do my fair share for the war effort. So, yesterday, I took a stroll around Manhattan, the city I call home, looking for any signs that we're at war.