Circumstances in late March led me to, of all places, Las Vegas - a place that like other epicenters of tourism provides the starkest contrast with everyone home.

I have basked in the Strip's frenetic bliss many a time, it always pulsates with the energy of possibility. Vegas is a place built on Analog Pleasures. The shining city in the desert is a cathedral to human ingenuity, having sprung from nothingness through total will.

While the vacant boulevard and shuttered casinos are intellectually fascinating, they were emotionally challenging. I felt a deeply unexpected sadness strolling the Strip, all the buildings towering, the neon alive, but missing one critical ingredient, the one without which life itself is empty.....

I welled up with tears more than once as titanic video boards, usually enticing visitors to shows or eateries, now shared only silent messages of togetherness: We can't wait to welcome you back...Even apart, we're in this together...We'll celebrate together soon...The show will go on! Several hotels had rooms selectively lit to form huge hearts on their edifices, and Steve Wynn's flagship bore "#VEGAS STRONG" across its front. The feeling of unity that this challenge has brought shines brighter than any gloom.