New York City, August 10, 2016

★ The first daylight, long before the alarm went off, seemed to have come from a blue sky, but by proper waking time there were only clouds. A few advance raindrops were falling on a steady breeze. The air was thick, and it was even thicker down in the subway, and out on the streets by midday it was thicker still. The rain closed in, sending people into something between a hurry and a scurry. Then those showers went away, leaving a new reek of soggy things on the unthinned air. Sun kept going in and out, till it was impossible to keep track of how far along the afternoon had gone. The only constant was the air, heavy and disgusting long into the night. Well past midnight, it was impossible to go to sleep without having the air conditioner on.