Word.

August's summer, and the ten-day forecast slips, missing a morning cooler than any other.

We arrive in the office as a trio, as unchoreographed as the weather.


"It's cold out there!" she exclaims, dribbling yogurt on her deep-V t.
'It is not cold,' I think, defending the potential of the English language.

"It's like someone turned on the A.C. out there!" another yelped from the front, making up for accuracy with noise.
But that observation is just as far from the truth.

I close my eyes to escape this reality, which is inappropriately disconnected from what's actually out there. I let words and phrases seep into my mind. Forget the office. I'm in a land of linguistics.

Let's think. It's supposed to be 90 degrees, a New York 90 degrees, which means a thick swatch of air when you're outside, and stale air inside. And oh boy, when inside for you is a summer subway commute, the heat is oppressive. In those underground tunnels, it hits your chest like a linebacker. That stale air is like a cartoon bucket of sweat that just tips over your head, leaving you drenched. City slick indeed. Sometimes, when subway heat lines up with a miserable day, you feel like you'll never get out--as if you'll be trapped with the swelter in the underground worm paths. But this morning, none of that existed.

"No. Stepping outside this morning and immediately considering going back for a sweater...it's like your first day of the year spent at the beach. You drive for awhile, accustomed to the air in the car that's carrying your summer weather from back home. When you finally get there, slowly pull into a parking space, expecting weather to match the sunshine you're about to jump out into...and you pop into air twenty degrees cooler than expected. You rummage to see if there's an extra sweater in the back seat. No dice. Run down to the water just to warm up on the jog. That's what this morning felt like. It felt like contrast, and it felt fresh. So uncharacteristically New York."

But I didn't say any of that. It stayed in my head. Maybe it was all in my head to begin with.