New York City, June 7, 2016

★★★ Sneeze after sneeze broke loose under the sun, till one small cloud briefly cut off the direct light. Shadows of unseen pedestrians on the subway grates crossed the patches of daylight in the track bed. The clouds were pert and white, even as hot air boiled from the traffic and a piercing reek of urine asserted itself over yards and yards of sidewalk. The breaks between blocks along Fifth Avenue were marked by haze slipping between the buildings. The afternoon clouded over and a thin shower made a taxi and a livery SUV turn on their wipers intermittently. At night, the rising wind made the apartment door rattle in its frame as if someone were fumbling at the wrong lock.