I ran blindly. I saw the lighted exit sign ahead of me and nothing else. I was only vaguely conscious of elbowing dignitaries out of my way as I ran through the chamber and down the escalator. I burst onto the sidewalk and kept running down the street.

"Taxi!" I yelled into oncoming traffic. Luckily, a Yellow Cab stopped for me. I told the driver to "step on it" to Grand Central. He ran through two red lights with the promise of a fifty-dollar tip.

There wasn't a ...