New York, September 13, 2012

★★★★ A realist take on the season. The sky had accumulated some grubby tan around its lower edge, and the breeze through the window brought in mild notes of mud and fuel oil and aquatic life. The Hudson was not a visual element but a river, two crosstown blocks away. See it, smell it. This made the breeze more comforting, if anything. Out on the sidewalk was crowded and almost hot. Stroller wheels caught stroller wheels. Ice carts and an organic soft-serve ice cream cone truck offered palliatives. After sundown, the laughter of children made its way in the window. Also, at some point, a large housefly.