The bus broke down five miles outside Kelso on the Joshua tree road near where the train tracks hang on the yellow hills. The few tourists unloaded their bags deciding they would rather walk than stand in the heat. Sally smoothed her pettifor and adjusted her wide-brimmed hat. She would wait in the bus. Twenty minutes later a private stuck his head into the bus and offered a ride and Sally joined the bus driver in the army jeep as it sped past the tourists. Later, Sally sat in the Kelso Depot sipping cold lemonade and eating sardines on crackers.
© 2018, Michael Shawn Sommermeyer. All rights reserved.