Civic Duty

Clemens and Ashley. Two peas in a pod. They stopped at a diner. Both order greasy cheeseburgers. Both ordered chocolate milkshakes. Both ordered cheese fries.

They were in a grassy desert. Nothing but an old diner and gas station. Clemens and Ashley.

A static radio played the headlines and classic rock.

“Breaking news: Massive wildfires sweep across the northern region forcing thousands to evacuate…”

“There’s a wildfire going on in Cali… That’s global warming right there…” Ashley said.

“Global warming right darn there,” Clemens echoed.

Clemens was fascinated by everything Ashley said. She had a big mouth that never stopped saying interesting nimnams.

“It’s like what happened with Hurricane Katrina… It wasn’t just a storm… It was the storm of storms… People weren’t ready for such an environmental disaster… Today’s wildfires… Tomorrow's droughts… Nobody’s listening to the scientists… We keep burning fuels and that’s the truth…” Ashley rambled.

“What can we do?” Clemens said.

“We have to fight back, Clemens! We have to be on Mother Earth's side!” Ashley said.

She looked at her beat up old ‘96 Honda Civic glumly.

“Ready to go?” Ashley finished the last of her burger.

“Yep…” Clemens said. Burning daylight.