New York City, February 26, 2013

★ Steadily bleakening grayness. Though the light looked featureless, the clouds were curdling. The wind was lazily pushy — there wasn’t much of it, yet it was cold, and it managed to be in one’s face even after rounding a corner. Tourists clutched guidebooks or maps with both hands, bracing themselves. The umbrella returned home as dry as it had left.