Roadside Picnic Table

 On a chilly, bright day, we stopped in the middle of nowhere to eat lunch. The picnic table threatened a host of hazards including splinters and lead poisoning. Its many-layered surface was a victim of baking summers and winter winds sweeping across the plains. Somehow the painted concrete blocks looked years younger, a geometric framework for the blue sky. Together they illustrated the contrast between chaos and order, just off the side of the road.