A thin older man next to me on subway is reading a yellowed, much read, earnest, serious, paperback, in Russian, about practical tips on protection from “chronic fatigue syndrome, hexes and curses”. It is 100F today and humid, but he is wearing a soviet-era-looking purple-and blue windbreaker.

On my other side, a burly guy with many tattoos and a trucker hat on his eyes, seemingly sleeping.