Right now, all over the city—all over the state—people are fidgeting and chewing their tongues and wondering if they're going to lose their jobs or their government assistance or the funding for the state program that they think is really, really, really important.

I just got off the phone with someone at an arts agency who sounded like he was headed off to his prison sentencing. "We're all waiting until 6 pm," he sighed. "We're all waiting until 6 pm."

If you know anyone whose fate rests in the legislature's hands, be extra nice to them today.