On Gratitude

It took Moses forty years to lead his people to the Promised Land. It took me forty-seven years to breathe new life into the abandoned Highland School and transform it into a community that could stand on its own.

Recessions, pandemics, floods, fires, windstorms—all took their toll. Each time, we picked up the pieces and carried on. For years, this experiment didn’t pencil out. But we were building for purpose, not profit.

When I share this story, the first reaction is disbelief: Why go so long without knowing it would work? The second: What got you through?

This Thanksgiving week, I offer two examples.

Oak Thorne, one of our Honorary Members, just turned 97. After a quiet Monday lunch in the library, Oak leaned over and said, “This club probably added twenty years to my life. Thank you.”

Then, a note from a new member, Aaron Romigh. His words brought tears to my eyes and clarity to my heart. He didn’t join because of his brother’s death, though that grief accompanied him. He came as a cancer survivor, not searching for a cure, but for a place to exist safely.

He found it in an unscripted conversation among fathers. Sharing stories about unspoken loss, he saw what this place makes possible — A Securus Locus. Not just for the thinkers and builders, but for the broken-hearted, and the ones carrying invisible weight.

City Club was designed and built to be a shelter from the storm. Come sit by the fire. Tell your story. Let us bear witness.

Read Aaron’s full letter here.

— Sina.