New York City, October 19, 2015

★★★ Now late-rising eyes could see the pink dawn light. The west was cloudless; outside was cold, plain cold now. The four-year-old was enraged about having to wear a puffy coat. The phone battery was draining fast again, and a crosswalk sign was stuck showing both hand and person. A few clouds, widely separated, showed up. A message arrived: On the first attempt to heat the office, a broken steam pipe had announced itself, and control of the climate was lost. From the couch, at home, it was refreshing to open the window for brief while now and then. In the well-warmed library, people variously sneezed, coughed, and burped.