New York City, January 21, 2016

★★★★ The first kick of wind through the lobby door was the worst. A crumpled plastic jug scraped loudly along the sidewalk amid general litter blowing east. Despite that, the cold had softened a little more, enough that it was possible to go out and get a coffee without fumbling with gloves. The longer walk for the better coffee, even. While everyone’s attention was on the shifting dramatics of potential future weather, here was full and ample and stable sun. The light penetrated the darkened windows of a stretch limo going by, showing the empty interior. On the south-facing walk, the muscles around the eyes cramped from squinting; the gaze relaxed and fell to the red-flashing shadows. The wind worked at the hat until it could get at the ears, but it took a while, and when it got there it still didn’t hurt.