New York City, February 1, 2017

★★★ The assistant principal in his usual post at the gates was warning the inflowing crowd that the schoolyard footing was treacherous. One of the adults, having gone in, doubled back to pull him away from his post to show him that the footing was very treacherous indeed. Children took tentative slides on the lumpy, glossy ice. For lineup time, the five-year-old’s teacher picked a spot that was still trampled powder, slick but less so, and visible. The temperature out in the day bounced back up into reasonableness. There was time between the uptown train and the end of the sitter’s shift to get to and from the supermarket, walking quickly, with no more fear of slipping.