“HOT AS HELL”

Before you throw me under the bus for using a profane word, hear me out. This term dates back decades primarily used by preachers to instill the fear of ( The Lake of Fire) torment to its congregation. Rest assured this has no reference to the theology of any church. As a great storyteller Paul Harvey used to say,” Now for the rest of the story”.

The sun was just breaking the morning sky as the four of us climbed into the bed of the Ford pickup. Even at this early hour the humidity felt as though you were sitting in a sauna. At the ripe old age of eleven, I knew it would be a long hot day in the tobacco fields of Eastern North Carolina.

Allow me to explain how all of this transpired. Tobacco was the main revenue source for the farmers, however being a small town the labor force to harvest this crop could get very competitive. The farmers sales pitch went something like this,” I will pay five dollars a day to get my four acres in hopefully by lunch and if it takes longer, I will throw in lunch”. In most instances the food bonus sealed the deal. Out of curosity I researched the purchasing power of $5.00 in the 1950’s to the purchasing power in 2026′, $69.09. What a difference seventy six years makes.

If you ever visited and/or lived in Eastern N.C. in July and August, it could be a tinder box. Temperatures in the mid- nineties with the humidity so thick you could cut it with a knife. However, as an eleven year old the elements were of no concern. What is the old saying,” Youth is wasted on the young”. At that time I never had second thoughts what happens to a person’s skin being in the sun until years later. In the fifities it was just another day in paradise. Hahaha.

One sweltering ninety-five degree day in the middle of a tobacco patch where you could see the heat vapors rising from the crops I made a deal with the man upstairs.” Lord, if you will get me out of this field today I will never use a tobacco product.” Being in my mid eighties I have stuck to that promise.

In retrospect, I should have taken heed when the old farmer was unloading the field hands from the pickup. “Boy’s, I hope you had a good breakfast cause today it’s going to be “hot as Hell”.

Be safe.