Time

The reason it takes 20 minutes to go one block is that there are the edges of gates to walk along, and a fire truck backing into a tiny garage, and the fat one-legged pigeon that sits on the bench by the bodega and waits for the oldest lady in the world to come out of her apartment and across the street in her sneakers with a bag of breadcrumbs, and then dogs keep going by and licking us, and there's some gross stuff on the sidewalk to examine, and tree roots to climb over, and crocuses starting to bloom. WHY are the crocuses starting to bloom?! It's February! There is also a place on the sidewalk where there are a whole bunch of little amethyst circles. And someone's playing saxophone out the open window. Which is why it takes forever to get anywhere these days.