New York City, June 20, 2017

★★★ The wind shook leftover raindrops out of the thick foliage. The schoolyard was crunchy underfoot with freshly torn twigs and leaves. The sky was a blue three or four months out of season; the light was sharp and hazeless. The flare off a windshield came close behind the flare off a bald head. Around solar noon it was unthinkable to stand and wait where the line for food extended past the shade of the restaurant onto the unprotected sidewalk. Once the shadows were falling sideways again, though, there was no place better to be than out in the breeze-filled afternoon shade. Each cloud that came into view seemed even better than the last one.