I discovered my poncho wasn’t waterproof any more.

It shed most of the water mechanically, so I wore it tied at my neck like a Superman cape. The rain pissed down. We were soaked to the thighs, but the wind was at our backs. When we’d slogged back to the truck—it took a couple of hours—we were so wet that when I lifted my feet to the pedals, water rushed to the backs of my boots.

*****

Boots