RESPITE IN THE CITY
New York City, the home of my birth, a place that’s equally familiar and uncomfortable. In September 2024, I returned again for Climate Week, concurrent with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The city is 15% more crowded than its usual gridlock, with hundreds of Heads of State and related dignitaries inciting closed city blocks and impossible traffic, especially in midtown.
Although I’m fortunate to traverse these urban canyons with familiarity, it wears on my soul quickly. While kind and familiar faces populate intimate gatherings, conferences, and receptions, the minute we hit the street, thousand yard stares and cloaks of emotional shielding repel my natural curiosity, making me feel quite alone in very large crowds.
After days that feel like weeks I’m spent, and the sirens, smells, and bustle have worn me down. But in the middle of the city, a respite… Central Park provides a canopy, grass, and the natural oxygen that helps my nervous system drop for a few minutes, bringing some familiar relief.
Can you really go home again? I’m glad to be headed home to Colorado later this evening, the place that has been my home for two thirds of my life. I leave New York wondering how many more times I’ll have to suit up, and glad I know the way to salve my soul in the Big City.