New York City, April 27, 2016

★★ The morning sky was unappealing, though here and there were unconsolidated spots of blue. Pigeons fluffed and huddled on a narrow ledge against a wall. The hoodie was too thick but the other hoodie would have been too thin. The men in suits were the ones who had probably gotten it right. The inside of the office was almost as cold as it had been in high summer. Out the windows, the clouds weakened and broke, till rush hour was cloudless. Faded phrases high on the sides of buildings brightened into legibility: CIVILIAN AND MILITARY … JAPANESE FOODS. The stagnant, still-warm air down on the subway platform was a relief.