postcards from the edge

My only regret was not taking half a valium for the Denver-to-Aspen leg.? Not for the turbulence, which turned out to be unremarkable, but for the constant warnings from the flight crew.?But once we landed at the delightful toy-sized airport, on my way to #AspenIdeas, I immediately embraced the Yellowstone-meets-Truman Show vibe.

I had imagined a Hamptons or Cannes-esque scene. Tony destinations that would prefer not to let me in, even with credentials.? But in Aspen, I encountered friendly faces everywhere. On the way to the hotel, my taxi driver, David, told me?he came from New York for a ski vacation 38 years ago, and never left. He got a job living rent free in exchange for being a handyman and house caretaker. Eventually he was able to build his own house, a feat he said would be impossible for him to do now. It was only day one, but the sunny Aspen attitude prevailed.

Most of the men roaming Aspen proper resemble either a younger or older Sam Elliott, and they take their skin routines seriously.?The women look like they spend much of their time hiking or horseback riding. And they all appeared unphased that I don’t do any of those things. A Starbucks disciple, I was disturbed by the knowledge there are none in the area, but I was relieved to discover there is good coffee to be had. I particularly enjoyed it at the relaxing MOLLIE, a fairly new small hotel 2 blocks from Aspen center, where I paired my coffee with a piece of their buttery, brown crumb cake. Good crumb cake is hard to find.

While taking a crisp morning jog around town, surrounded by mountains on every side, I enjoyed the faint smell of wood burning stoves, weed, and whiskey. Well, maybe just burning wood. But I did feel a little high, never having run at this altitude before. I recommend it.

With Tina Brown as this year’s guest #AspenIdeas curator, I should not have been surprised by the interesting mashup of experts, conversation pairings, and meaty topics. I cried during the beautiful performance and conversation with cellist Joshua Roman, who has been living with long COVID. I cried (again) during Atul Gawande and Sebastian Junger’s discussion about life and Junger’s recent near-death experience from a pancreatic aneurysm, which he explores in his book,?In My Time of Dying. I was riveted by Ramie Targoff, introduced by none other than Maureen Dowd. Targoff brought to life the extraordinary group of OG Elizabethan creative women in her book Shakespeare’s Sisters: How Women Wrote the Renaissance. I actually understood where we are right now and what it will take to finance the climate emergency, thanks to the conversation between Anne Finucane, John Kerry, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, and Stephanie Ruhle. I laughed a lot, and cried a little again, during Griffin Dunne’s rollicking conversation with his friend Fisher Stevens. They discussed Dunne’s dramatic and beloved family, his friendship with Carrie Fisher, the importance of believing in yourself, and Dunne’s new memoir, The Friday Afternoon Club.

Every session I got the chance to take in felt distinctly un-conference like – instead they all felt like I had wandered into someone’s living room, smack into the middle of a fantastic conversation, where everyone seemed happy I had dropped in. I left with my summer reading list, a reminder that things are never what you think they’re going to be,?and a bit more optimism and empathy for the human condition. I would love to come back someday with my family (is there a more affordable off season??), to once again experience Aspen, the land of beauty, friendliness, and good hair with no humidity. Until then, I’ll be thinking about the perfectly crispy french fries I devoured at Hotel Jerome.