7:00 PM.

It was a long day at work, the heat was intense, and there was nobody else around on the farm besides me and the horses. Incredibly hard to concentrate, all I wanted to do was sit down with a cold glass of cola.

I drive home, in my tiny car with both windows rolled down, because it has no air conditioning. I’m in my work clothes- boots, an old shirt with permanent dirt stains, and a pair of jeans covered in paint spots. The radio is blaring Kenny Chesney, and as I pull to a stoplight, there’s no doubt I’m getting funny looks from the kids in the tricked out Honda Civic next to me.

I ride down Route 85 towards the center of town. When I look in the rearview mirror, I can see the heat shimmering off the hot blacktop in waves.

I turn off the main road onto a side street that branches into the woods. Immediately, the air is cooler, the sun not so bright. A neighbor who is walking his dog waves to me, I wave back.