Working on Independence Day
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQD0F_zBkHCCo8JgJJ_szOGyn_x0kzy-Y9faiVLO3gsU768riQecstop2mHZm0m4snyrS1p8gCHOXK0Dj3VzUcdnMkCrEdCcwMhXZBov12hVK4UluVRjuD8QXC4AChHu9ynpAZNNb_DCo9vEZExHn_ST8o4JefwaT5lsGv6zMOro3fdHBQSDH5JdtQH1PX/w400-h286/Screenshot%202024-06-26%20at%201.17.42%20PM.png)
It had been blistering hot on my grandpa’s wheat ranch. We’d gotten the call that harvest would be a week sooner because it was nearly ready. My summer job was helping in the kitchen. I’d been well-trained by my grandmother who knew how to cook for a harvest crew and have it ready on time. But, looking at the calendar, I’d be away from friends on the 4 th of July. As a teen, I looked forward to staying out late, watching fireworks, and cruising around. Now I’d be on a wheat ranch in the middle of nowhere. No friends. No fireworks. No fun. I unpacked my suitcase in the tiny bedroom that had once been my dad’s. The single window looked out toward the adjacent cinder-block building that served as the crew kitchen. It featured a linoleum floor and Formica table with eight chairs. Cooking was done on one side and laundry on the other. A window held one of those air conditioning units that tried to keep up with the intense heat. Hundreds of acres were ripe for the harvest. The