New York City, March 12, 2017

★★★ Rooftops were still white with preserved old snow. The heaters, running full-on, had detached the stuffy world inside from any hint of the experience of the outside. The light lost its color through the day but kept its sharpness. The air stung a little when finally encountered, and the cold quickly got into the knuckles. Babies were covered in plastic or down or both. Where the fresh produce usually belonged in the sidewalk stands there were freeze-proof indestructibles: paper towels, matzos, pistachios, firewoods both natural and artificial.