New York City, January 19, 2016

★★ The four-year-old’s double-layered pants were too loose in the waist and had to be replaced with Batman pajama bottoms under regular pants. It was too warm in the apartment to put on all the necessary layers without overheating. The sweater could wait till the lobby, where the frigid air was mixing in. The shelter of the subway platform was of no benefit; descending out of the sun into it was like entering a walk-in freezer. Little shreds of cloud moved startlingly fast from east to west. People’s skin looked raw or dusty in the midday brightness. The passing of a small cloud across the sun was a momentary disaster.