AM/PM 2.0

I pulled off the road at 2:13am. I’m not sure why I remember the exact time, but it’s something that has always stuck with me over the years. I was in the middle of Nebraska somewhere, on some state or county 2 lane, making a run south to Amarillo. Back then, I tried to stay off the interstates. I always found trouble there. Or it found me. Was never quite sure. There’s less to worry about on those back roads anyway. Sure, it’s less convenient and sometimes a lot slower, but I saw more of America that way. Hell, that was the main reason I took the job. And I wasn’t afraid to drive all night. You’d be amazed at how many people won’t drive overnight.


So, like I said, it was 2:13am. Had to be late September, early October. Days were still warm. Nights were starting to get chilly, but not into frost season yet. Moon was full, and probably the brightest I’ve ever seen. Got out to stretch, took a walk around the van. I took in the sounds of prairie at night; the wind rustling the long, dry grass, a cricket chirping. The road was deserted. I hadn’t seen anyone in at least an hour. No houses out there either. I hadn’t seen anything really in quite a while. It was peaceful. Probably the most peaceful I’d ever felt. I climbed up onto the hood of the van, and spread out, resting up against the windshield. Stared into the nothingness of a sky filled with stars, it stared back. I came to a realization of how insignificant each and every one of us truly is. How can we be so self-important, when the universe could really give a shit whether we existed at all? I was as important to the universe as a single piece of sand in the Sahara was to me. Not important, significant or meaningful at all. And I was content. Something about that comforted me. Right down to my core. I guess I can’t really explain it. I hopped off the van, went over to the side of the road and took a piss. As beautiful as it was there, I had to get a move on it. I had to be to Amarillo by 3pm. Jumped back into the van, turned on Coast to Coast AM and did my best to get the hell out Nebraska.