Constitutional

Today I walked instead of driving. I’m a dedicated walker everywhere but at home. I don’t feel like I’ve been someplace unless I’ve taken public transportation. Subways are my favorite, trains come second, and I can occasionally be persuaded to take a bus. I’m afraid of ending up in the wrong place on a bus, […]

The Look

Jacob Riis is famous for having photographed the tenements in New York City. Real estate rules about rooms having windows, and indoor plumbing, and fire escapes, did not descend upon us from angels. The relative liveability of modern cities was won by Mr. Riis and other activists. Today is his feast day in the Anglican calendar. […]

Still Waters

St. Paul was a New Yorker. People from New York are recognizeable by their svelte builds, the glow of 14 karat cultural immersion, and the easy eyes that own everything and are never impressed. Two thousand years ago, you see, Rome was New York. Now it is a tourist trap. That might give New York […]

Nothing Happened

I think from the first time I saw “Sesame Street,” I thought: I want to live in the city! I want to live with a lot of weird people and mismatch architecture and monsters! Get me out of here! I hated that the suburbs were clean and neat. There was no room for my anger […]