New York City, June 15, 2016
★★★★ Passing flip-flops flip-flopped audibly on the sidewalk. It had been hot in the building hallway and the sun was bright enough to make grains in the concrete sparkle even through dark spots of old chewing gum. The air conditioning in the school auditorium was frigid, though; after it, all the apartment required was an open window. A waxing gibbous moon was up in the daylight sky on the way to dinner. People already eating were pressed outward into the sidewalk seating and window sections along Columbus, making a Wednesday look like weekend brunch. The sky was still daylit when dinner was done. The four-year-old, in flip-flops of his own, flung a fist up toward the silvery west. “I punched a cloud in its eye,” he said. When dark did come, the moon over Broadway was shining from under a crackled shroud. By the time a cab had gone 30-some blocks downtown, the moon was missing entirely, nor did it return after the ride back.