New York City, December 28, 2016

★★ The doughy clouds held far past the time they were supposed to have dissipated, allowing shimmering patches to appear but never the sun. Sometimes blue was visible, yet not in a quarter where it would do any real good. The most a stir-crazy child could be persuaded to do was to pass a basketball back and forth outside for a few minutes, hands thrust in coat pockets till the last possible second of each exchange.