New York City, July 26, 2016

★★ People were venturing to sit outside at cafe tables in the morning, even as the air above the sidewalks grew thicker and thicker with newly evaporated water. Walking in the sun was a mistake, but by the middle of the day, enough clouds had showed up to make things survivable outdoors. The subway air conditioning ranged from full-force to nonexistent, with some cars struggling in the middle. By rush hour the wet heaviness of the morning had been replaced with a hot stiffness. Who were the people still wearing black—black shirts, black pants—in the stripped-down and loosely wrapped crowds? How were they doing it? The sun went down in saturated colors, wonderful if you were watching it from behind a window, with the air conditioner on.