I regret having missed out on the Washington, D.C./New York City earthquake, and I’m also sorry about missing Hurricane Irene this Sunday. If I was still in Manhattan I would put on a parka that morning and take the A train to Rockaway so I could see the big waves and feel the full force of the winds. I know people whose entire lives are about living in climate-controlled safety vacuums and avoiding the aliveness of nature at all costs.