No, I'm not ironing the mail. I think the idea is silly, but I obviously didn't convey that in my post. Why would I want to transport the spores through the house and leave them on my ironing board, etc.? Bleach is even more amusing, as I assume it might make the mail somewhat difficult to read.

There is one thing that occurs to me, though. We are constantly told you need 10,000 spores to get inhalation anthrax, but the critical info is missing. How "big" would 10,000 anthrax spores be? If the spores are microscopic, the number 10,000 doesn't exactly comfort me. I am surprised I haven't heard this explained better.

Incidently, I finally had a meeting in the District at a big law firm, so I had to go downtown on Metro. All went well until a colleague came in the conference room and told us that a suspicious package had arrived on our floor with dust inside it, and Hazmat had taken it away for testing.

I think I'll pass on Cipro and eat massive amounts of Halloween candy instead.

I hate to bum everybody out but here goes - I was listening to Andrea Mitchell interviewed on the radio this a.m. and she has a very interesting perspective on the whole Anthrax thing. She feels (I won't go into the long explanation of where she got all her info and why I believe her), that the Anthrax scare is merely a diversion to draw our attention away from the terrorists real intention, which she believes is a plan for mass destruction. She has no doubt in her mind that something major is in the works and bottom line - terrorists want us eliminated. I mean why waste their time on a few piddly deaths from Anthrax? Take it for what it's worth. Sorry for being so negative!

You want negative? I'll give you negative. I think the anthrax scare is one of two things. One possibility is that the bad guys are testing their anthrax delivery system. Note that the letters had different formulations (different levels of fineness) and some were sealed and some were not sealed. They were sent to high-profile places so the bad guys would be sure the media would report the "effectiveness" of each formula.

The other possibility is akin to what Andrea Mitchell said -- they're going to really hit us with something contagious. As Cindy mentioned, a crop duster flew over 17 barges on the Mississippi river a few days ago, from stem to stern. It was dropping a fine white mist. Local authorities say it was cotton defoliant, but how on earth would they know that? What on earth is a crop duster doing flying over a river, for heaven's sake? The authorities say not to be worried, but I am not buying it.

Curious - who is Andrea Mitchell? Is she a media person for the White House?Pardon my ignorance; I really don't know.

Curious, could you tell us (or maybe just ignorant me) - who is Angela Mitchell and in what area is she an expert?

I know it's been said before this but in light of his second acquittal let's send OJ out to take over the Taliban. At least he lets women wear what they want when they're alive.

Andrea Mitchell is just a reporter. Nothing more, nothing less.

Andrea Mitchell is also married to one of the most important people in Washington, Alan Greenspan.

I wish the media would SHUT UP!!!!!! I no longer read the papers, nor watch TV news - they're all idiots. I recommend tuning out - I am really catching up on books I've been wanting to read.

No kidding, they're not telling us everything. I can hear the helicopters buzzing my building every morning, flying so low they set off car alarms. It's not fun living so close to the Pentagon and not knowing what the heck is going.

I doubt that Andrea Mitchell's pillow talk with Alan Greenspan qualifies her to comment on bioterrorism. If she has anything to say about the direction of interest rates, however, I'm all ears.

Andrea Mitchell is a White House news correspondent who may be "just a reporter", but she knows a hell of a lot more than most Americans given the circles in which she travels. She was basically just confirming my, as well as many others hunch anyway. Think about it, what IS the point of a few Anthrax letters? Or, don't think about it at all, turn off the news and read books as bye-bye news suggests. Ignorance is bliss!

Cindy, I wasn't suggesting you put bleach on your mail!!! I heard on the news they were using bleach to clean the offices where anthrax had been found! As a result of all this, I hope my junk mail is drastically reduced!

Has anyone given thought these anthrax letters could be the work of some militia group inside this country? IMO, Tim McVeigh probably had more help than they admit or could it be someone getting revenge from the Ruby Ridge or Waco incidents? There are stockpiles of anthrax in this country that are unaccounted for...

Good article in this a.m.'s Post about why the anthrax letters are most likely NOT domestic terrorists but actually Al Queada or similar -- handwriting, wording, and, in particular, the fact that the anthrax is coated with a substance they can trace to factories in several Middle Eastern countries.

curious-What show was Andrea Mitchell on? I would like to see the complete text of her comments. Thanks...

Actually Gina it was an AM radio program on yesterday at about 8:30. Having never listened to these types of shows prior to 9/11, I don't even know what the station or show was. I was just searching the stations! Sorry I can't help.

I'm with Cindy. I'm on my way over, Cindy, with the Halloween candy, and my three best friends, Sara Lee, Ben & Jerry.

Don't forget to pick up my main man, Mr. Haagen-dazs! With all the talk of new security procedures, we have neglected the obvious -- eating our way out of this mess.

On the bleach, sorry, Big Al. With the various suggestions that one microwave and iron one's mail, I'm afraid I became somewhat disoriented. Maybe it was the fumes from the bleach.

It has been a difficult week - some to do with anthrax/terrorism, some not. The manholes in our business area exploded Monday, and our building closed because the electricity was out; Tuesday the firm delivered, with the mail, rubber gloves and masks; and yesterday we had a building evacuation which brought the fire trucks (false alarm, but who knew until it was over.) If I am sitting in a city underpass, my mind starts playing tricks on me. I have the flu right now, or what I hope is the flu. I watch my two friends deal with the deaths in their families from the Pentagon attack. The surface of my life appears the same, but it is not, and won't be for a long time. I am not frozen, but thoughtful on a level I don't like.