New York City, June 16, 2013

★★★ The early light was dim enough to permit sleeping late. After that ceremonial reprieve from duty, toward noon, the children in the playroom lobbied their fathers to go outside, where the air was not yet hot and the radiance wasn’t penetrating the shadows. The sky, which had gone blue, went gray after lunch. But the worse the prospects for the afternoon looked, the better things were in the moment: to be out under clouds, with gusts stirring, was a float in tropical seas; whenever the threat of rain seemed to diminish, the brightness was roasting. In the end, beauty beat out comfort. Clouds lifted, and clear sun laid a blue and dazzling surface across the river.