There still isn’t much to say.

Times Square is a flirt between good and evil, between science-fiction come true and the decadence of materialistic America. But mostly these days, walking around and staring at the giant displays, I get a sense of doom. As though we have gone too far and will soon pay for our arrogance. Times Square represents the essence of human greed. Incredible amounts of money are spent here trying to convince people that they lack something, that they need a thing, that they must spend more in order not to be less.

I long for a peaceful way of life, for the cycles of nature, the sounds of outdoors. I miss having time to slow down without guilt, to rush only for thrills, to laugh out of fulfillment rather than out of nervousness.

Author’s note: After Marie raised an eyebrow reading this, I must add for the record that there is the third kind of laughter. Therapeutic, regenerating, liberating, it centers us by offsetting the drama. It takes two with a similarly twisted sense of humor. We get plenty of that, thankfully.