STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — There’s something about this time of year on Staten Island’s tree-lined streets that feels untouched by the noise of the world. No politics here on a walk through a park. No urgency. Just the rhythm of nature doing what it’s always done—quietly, beautifully, without asking for attention.

Fall, in its early days, is innocent. It’s the season of noticing—how the light hits the trees, how the air smells different, how the world seems to pause just long enough for you to catch your breath.

Scents are heightened, and I find myself always hungry—appreciating a pie roasting in the oven, chicken soup on the stove, and even the smells of lawnmower-trodden apples rotting in the grass.

Between the headlines and the clear blue skies of recent days, I ask you to take a walk wit

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