Like a Fish Back Into Water

Reflecting on a return to St. Louis.

I love St. Louis! I feel this most profoundly when returning from another city. If I’m gone for more than a couple days, the first thing I’m reminded of is how many trees we have. They’re everywhere, not just in our urban gems that are Forest Park and Tower Grove Park. Old neighborhood streets throughout are lined with 40+ foot trees that you cannot reach your arms around. They were planted over a century ago, at the same time bricks were stacked for homes they now shelter.

Seven years ago I bummed around Northern California for several months, returning in the middle of a muggy, hot summer. This is to be expected, though these dog days were particularly torrid. All of July ’13 was in the triple digits, the same month I started my career as a bike courier. My time away was more than adequate to get used to the mild, ideal climate of the Bay Area. Except, it felt good being back in St. Louis, sweating uncontrollably all day as I delivered food around the Central West End.

It’s was almost as if our summertime humidity has a specific gravity, and my body acclimated to it over the 26 years of my life. I floundered my way around beautiful Sonoma County for a little bit, and now I was back, flipping around my pond.