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All over but the healing

BY DIANE DAVIS | STAFF WRITER

December 23, 2005

Those trains expected to screech through subway tunnels Friday may never sound so sweet. After three days of predawn preparations, crazy traffic jams, interminable train trips and endless walking -- oh the walking! -- New Yorkers heaved an inevitable sigh Thursday: It was over.

Long Islanders planned to return to their regular train schedules. Carpool mates said their farewells. Weekend warriors turned weekday walkers prepared to put away their sneakers, their aching muscles ready for respite.

But only after one more long, twisted trip home. At least there was plenty to talk about: Who will pay what fines? What will the union get for its trouble? How will history remember the mayor: hero or hothead?

Friday, the day before Christmas weekend, the city likely will burst to life, as shoppers crowd stores, workers once again focus on work and a thousand otherwise ho-hum errands left undone get gloriously fulfilled.

No one can forget what the city lost. The politicians and economists for months will talk about the hundreds of thousands of dollars unspent. But something else went missing, too: For three days, in a place that has been remarkably united since Sept. 11, 2001, there were bitter words and blame.

Us against each other.

The conflict is probably not over. But Friday morning, when the weather turns warm, those trains and buses roll again, friends greet familiar faces and New York rallies around a single goal once more, there will be many reasons to smile.