Felt Like Six Hundred Twenty One

dandelions were stretched out along the roadside spent wild lavender thistles were shriveling into brown stalks we had no air in our car, it felt like we were in a sauna the first few seconds were great, then it felt stifling. how hot is it? I asked my niece. She checked her phone. Heat advisory, heat index, heat…..here it is. A hundred and one. In Kansas a hundred and one feels like six hundred and twenty-one. Especially if you have no air in your car. The grass had turned as tan as sand; it crunched when we walked. Lawnmowers were called off, dirt patches felt solar-heated. Roses, lilies, lilacs, crepe myrtles, and rose of Sharon had given up. dandelions were stretched out along the roadside spent