New York City, August 7, 2013

★★ Darkness gathered, and the damp. Applause carried from the open top of a sightseeing bus, yet unrained-on. Things got lighter and darker again, purposelessly, till it resolved into a light, annoying rush-hour rain, wet but not soaking wet. Uptown it was hard to tell if the rain was starting or stopping or just inherently sporadic. Even if the air was still cool — clammy, now — the wet stink of summer was back.