New York City, October 4, 2017

★★★★ The children in their shorts or trackpants and hoodies pressed up against the schoolyard gate in the shade, waiting for the belated unlocking. A pigeon took one last unhasty strut through a patch of reflected sun before the tide of running little feet swept through. The light was low-angled but there was still full green foliage to catch and dapple it. The bounce-back glow in the plaza outside the apartment made a man reading a newspaper on the bench look like a photo shoot. Sun coming on directly gave the display windows of an entry-level tasteful home furnishings store the bleary and yellowed look of bulletproof checkout-counter plexiglass. The air got heavier and lost its transparency. In the full shine of afternoon, there was no such thing as monochrome brick.