New York City, June 29, 2017

★★★★ The heat had risen to a low but definite swelter. The midday breeze moved like the pleasant breezes of the days before, but it brought no comfort. A man flopped back in his seat and pressed a folded newspaper against his face. The bad smells were merging together into one bad smell. Past the peak of midday, though, the thickening filter of clouds overhead and the relentlessness of the air conditioning had combined to make outdoors more bearable than indoors, the warmth softening into something not just tolerable but easy. Artwork flapped up and down at vendors’ tables. The Krishnas were jangling furiously and a PA was blasting “Blitzkrieg Bop,” surrounded by signs and canopies meant to encourage people to have the identified experience of enjoying Union Square. Away from the effort, the benches were lined with people all along the pathway. A man coaxed pigeons onto his hands.