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Please understand that I, like most New Yorkers, do love Mother Nature, but the gifts nature bestows and the power she wields often feel secondary in a city like New York.

Additionally, unlike California, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Northwest, the coast of Maine, Florida, or the southwest, where someone might move for quality of life and nature's bounty, people live in New York City for culture, work and all the things and opportunities that are man-made.

Often, nature feels like a corporate perk or, at times, even like an irritant, standing between us and what we want. This is a city on the move, and nothing will stop a New Yorker from getting what he or she wants. Or at least trying until his or her tank is clearly empty.

Most New York City residents use a combination of walking and public transportation to get around town. Few of us do more to adapt to changing seasons or weather than change wardrobe - this is one of many reasons why the impact of nature is mitigated. We typically do not shovel snow, salt our own walkways, put on snow tires, rake leaves, mow lawns, water the grass or clean gutters - all the activities that connect humans with nature.

Unfortunately, New York City is not ideally suited for those who want a comfortable ride in a roomy vehicle. That's OK - not everyone is a driven Type A or has the need to be. There are many days when I question the prudence of the self inflicted wounds from voluntary immersion in America's biggest rat race.

Last night there was a brief lightning storm dramatic enough to make many of us look up and say wow. But unlike our country brethren, who may spend a pleasant evening watching shooting stars, we rarely indulge these natural phenomenon for very long. Glancing up to the sky, seeing a spectacular display of lightning complemented by a waxing moon, we acknowledge when nature has spoken. Yes, like any great commercial, we hear you, but now, back to our main feature :)