many things , like the distant cloud , single and high in the sky , spied through three slots of the guestroom blinds ; like the air in the room , thick still with season from the night before and far into the morning ; like the sound the television makes as it powers up and clears its electrical throat in static gurglings ; like the ripple in harman-karmans arm as he put the remote control downabsentmindedly , for he too was caught square in the chest by the newson the nightstand ; many things froze and held perfectly still , clear as ice .