“This is how his working day unfolded. He got up in the dark, at five in the morning, and washed his face with warm water, if the boiler was working, or even cold. He shaved carefully while talking to his wife, who was busy in the kitchen, preparing scrambled eggs or pancakes or whatever she had planned for breakfast. By six he was driving to work and as the sun came up he parked his car next to other cars. At this time of morning the sky was orange, blue or purple, sometimes crimson, sometimes yellow or clear, like water on a rocky bottom. Sometimes he saw his breath as a white cloud in the morning air, sometimes he didn’t. But the sun continued to rise, and he pounded his fist on the green cab of the garbage truck. Then the driver, shouting “Hello!” with a smile, climbed onto the seat on the other side, and they drove along the streets of the big city to where the work was waiting...”