In my wanderings around the Slope I heard or overheard these reactions to Wall Street’s free fall from a wide variety of local citizens.

"This is scary."

What does this mean?"

"How does this effect me?"

"What will happen to New York real estate?"

"How will this influence the election."

"People are going to want daddy now. Old man McCain."

"It’s good for Obama. McCain is an idiot about the economy."

"I can’t get unemployment on the phone, the message says to call back later. I guess it’s the Lehman Brothers thing."

"$85 Billion bailout? That’s like the government buying a Mercedes for every person in San Jose."

"It’s the end of American Capitalism as we know it."

"Thank you, Nostradamus," she said in reply to the above statement.

"You can’t cry over losses in the stock market. It’s not real money. It’s only on paper."

"We’re screwed."

"This will trickle down and affect everybody."

"I haven’t been following the news, the TV, the radio, what’s been going on?"

"Oh just the end of the world."

"I am freaking out."

"It’s like after 9/11."

It’s like 1987, remember 1987?"

"It’s like 1929."

"Yikes."