... is that every time there's a big event, like for example last night's 4th of July fireworks viewing, the place becomes crowded and raucous, like Times Square. Then, the next morning when I go sit on my bench, it's like it all never happened. Joggers, dogwalkers, tugboats and barges, peace and relative quiet. Goose family nibbling their way north on the seawall, two terns diving into the river to fish, two cormorants drying their wings on pilings -- and a female Gadwall with one tiny newborn pip of a duckling madly paddling after her. They made a lot of distance, the little guy doing very well. But then she slipped under a pier and lost him when a wave lifted him and he couldn't see where she'd gone. He swam around forlornly for about a minute (he's too little even to quack for her) and I was panicking. Obviously she's an idiot, obviously she only has one left out of however many she hatched yesterday or the day before (it's unlikely there was only the one) because of this kind of clueless behavior, the poor little guy's way too young to survive without her, what should I do, should I fish him out... And then she swam back out from under the pier. She'd noticed he was gone. He moved as fast as I've ever seen a pencil dot move until he was right next to her and they swam off again. So whatever happened to his clutch-mates, this one might yet survive.