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identical looking vans.
    The occupants poured out of the van and headed into the store wearing their dirty uniforms to stock up on their usual supply of beer, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco.
    John tucked his hardhat under the crook of his arm and started walking the opposite direction towards his car.
    He drove an old Ford sedan. It wasn’t anything fancy; the cloth seats were dirty and torn, the dash was cracked, and the tires were nearly bald, but it worked well enough for going back and forth to work.
    “See you tomorrow,” Mike said as he limped towards his Toyota Camry.
    John nodded and waved.
    “Take it easy, kid,” John said as he opened his car door and tossed his hardhat on the passenger seat. “Remember… Icy Hot and hot showers are your friends for the first few weeks.”
    Mike chuckled and shook his head.
    “I’ll remember that,” Mike said.
    John grinned, got inside his car, and slammed the rusty door shut.
    The heat was abysmal.
    He stuck the key in the ignition and tried to start the engine.
    After a few cranks and a plume of black smoke from the tailpipe, the engine started and hot air blew from the air conditioning vents.
    Of all the things that had stopped working in the car during the years, he missed the air conditioning most of all.
    John manually rolled down both front windows and turned on the radio.
    A country station from Corpus started playing.
    At least the radio works, he thought with a smile.
    He pulled a cigarette out of his crushed pack and lit it, blowing the smoke out of the window as he drove out of the Love’s parking lot and turned onto a country road that stretched out into the horizon. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as an old Hank Williams song started playing.
    The road leading to his house was surrounded by nothing but arid farmland and scattered homesteads that were miles apart from each other. The derelict wooden fences that lined the street were overgrown with thorny weeds and the remnants of rusty old tractors sat on the side of the road in the ditch, collecting dust. Most of the homes were abandoned, rotting, and had their windows boarded up. Others were empty and simply looked dark and ominous.
    There were a few patchy corn fields, but they were dry and dying.
    Towering oil wells, waste ejection wells, and natural gas wells covered the desolate farmland. Some of the wells were tapped dry while others were still surrounded by chain-link fences and had manned security shacks.
    John made it a point to keep his attention focused on the bumpy road and not on the scenery. Semi-trucks sped past his car in the opposite direction as they headed into town. He flicked his cigarette butt out of the window and shifted in his uncomfortable seat.
    A commercial played on the radio.
    “Are you looking for an exciting and energetic career with unlimited growth potential?” a female asked as upbeat music played in the background. “Triburton is now hiring entry-level positions for our expansion of the Eagle Ford Shale operation. We offer competitive salary, paid training, and an excellent benefits package! Simply fill out the easy online application or visit one of our convenient local recruitment centers and sign up today! At Triburton we’re creating a safe, sustainable future for America and would like you to join our team. Visit us today at–”
    John turned off the radio with a sour expression and drove the next three miles towards his house in silence.
    He turned onto the dirt road that led to his house and stared out the window.
    His acres were barren and the mesquite trees on his land were dead. The old abandoned cattle barn that sat in the middle of his property was in serious disrepair; the wood was rotting and the tin roof was falling apart. He mainly used it as a place to store his junk and pieces of scrap.
    It depressed him to see what his family legacy had become.
    He turned his attention towards the house and felt a little better.
    It was a modest