New York City, July 28, 2013

★★★★ Cool, soothing gray tranquilized the landscape. The undulating cloud cover gave the eyes something to stare at without really focusing. A map blew out of a stroller as it was being loaded into the back of a silver Honda Element, and started rolling away. Nothing was stopping people from wearing flip-flops, so they did, but there was no need for them either. The toddler had real shoes on his feet again and solid pavement underneath, and so he went running up the avenue. The sun had emerged, or mostly emerged, to shine on the late-afternoon playground. The sound of a helicopter and the smell of the fountain water hung in the heavy air. By dinnertime, the gray had rolled back in, darker than before, bearing rain.