Spring

Material possessions are highly, highly overrated. Proof of this lies along the West Side highway, where there is a bike and walking trail directly adjacent to and running along the Hudson River. It was football weather. By this I mean the temperature was just cool enough that a sweatshirt was required for walking and warm enough that running around in shorts and a cut-off t-shirt produced a comfortable and controllable level of aerobic exertion.

Everyone and his dog was out and enjoying the ocean breezes. Even the shady characters selling the counterfeit Gucci, Burberry, and Louis Vuitton handbags were sliding off their black leather jackets and kicking back on the park benches. Hot dogs, bialys, and pretzels were sold at furious rates to clamoring tourists and then slathered with the appropriate condiments. Seagulls and their pigeon friends hopped by expectantly, waiting for the inevitable drop of crumbs.

We have been waiting too long for this. The trade-off of living without earthquakes and volcanos is the wintertime, where the picturesque West Side drive turns into a cacophony of wind tunnels and snow/sleet sheets. I hope that my winter coat will stay stored away for the next eight months.

I don't know about you, but I would gladly take on a (small) earthquake or (small) volcanic eruption for another month of warm weather.