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Late yesterday afternoon, a 97-year-old retaining wall collapsed on the Hudson Parkway, harming no one but inconviencing hundreds of nannies eager to get home from a hard day's work on Riverside Drive. Longtime residents of neighborhood were suitably rocked by the events:

Sona Kunter, 82, was watching television when the rumble began, and her roommate, Margaret Harrison, 83, was reading letters. At first, Ms. Kunter thought, the booming sounds must have been a truck hitting the footbridge, a common occurrence, but then firefighters began knocking on their door and escorted them out.

Ms. Kunter and Ms. Harrison stuffed medicine into a plastic bag, along with a box of cookies, and ended up around the corner on the street, sitting on a black couch that a tenant in a neighboring building had dragged out for them...

"I am not really scared; I've been through worse," Ms. Harrison said. "I've been through the war."

Content with having shed some perspective on the situation, Ms. Harrison then reached into her box of Snackwell's and shoved a Lemon Creme cookie in her mouth. "I can't believe this stuff is sugar-free!" she marveled.

For Some Taking In The View, A Close Call [NYT]