I wanted to write about something upbeat today. Something happy.But instead, my mind is filled with numbers.

As I write this on the 30th day after the terrorist attacks onNew York City and Washington, D.C., here are some figures that cameacross my desk today:

* 4,815 are still missing at the World Trade Center.

* 579 are confirmed dead in New York, including those on the twoairplanes.

* 189 are confirmed dead at the Pentagon, including those on theairplane.

* 44 are confirmed dead in the Pennsylvania plane crash.

* 15,846 truck loads of rubble have been removed from the WorldTrade Center site.

* 3,000 residents of New York are still homeless.

* $12 billion worth of computers were destroyed in New York.

* 27,025 reservists have been called up.

* 30,000 Americans in uniform are involved abroad.

* 600+ people in the United States have been questioned byinvestigators.

* 140,000 airline employees have been laid off.

* 100+ countries are offering intelligence support to the UnitedStates.

Those figures are from the Associated Press.

A Salvation Army report on what it is calling “OperationCompassion Under Fire” in New York shows:

* 5,200 Salvation Army officers, employees and volunteers are atwork.

* 5 indoor feeding sites are in operation, 24 hours a day.

* 9 mobile canteen units are in use.

* 17,619 meals are served per day.

* 1,395,758 meals had been served through Oct. 9 to rescue,search, recovery, security and support personnel.

* 2,507 people took advantage of the Salvation Army’s mentalhealth services Wednesday.

* 28,261 have used the services since Sept. 11.

From the American Red Cross:

* $100-million is the amount of a Red Cross Gift Program createdto provide immediate financial help to families of people lost inthe World Trade Center, including emergency workers.

* $17,000,000 is the amount distributed thus far to 837families.

* 50,000 one-on-one meetings or counseling sessions have beenconducted with people impacted by the tragedy.

* 4,900,000+ meals and snacks have been distributed.

* 175,000+ meals and snacks are distributed per day.

* 21,000 volunteers from the New York area and from across theU.S. have helped staff the Red Cross relief effort to date.

There will be even more numbers to total in the weeks to come asthe United States continues its military operation in Afghanistan.Sadly, one category will be U.S. causalities.

It truly is a number that will live in infamy:

* 9-11-01.

Write to Nanette Laster at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven, Miss.39601, or send email to news@dailyleader.com.