Learning Las Vegas

Used as a noun, the word “place” carries certain diverse meanings, some of which have emotional significance for the speaker (or author) and listener (or reader), depending on the context, circumstances, and a mutually accepted concept of the intrinsic definition of the word. To describe this observation more fully, I am sharing here the text of a speech titled “Reflections on the Meaning of Place,” which I gave in Chicago twenty-two years ago.

In addition to being a recreational resource for people, Central Park’s landscape harbors niches that serve as welcoming sites for the habitation and procreation of certain species of wildlife, including the turtle known as a red-eared slider. Its propagation process is a rarely observed and fascinating spectacle to behold.