the sweet smell of french fries and sunshine

Today a couple of guys are fixing some sort of plumbing/electrical problem on the outside of my office. All morning they’ve been digging a giant hole next to the building and struggling with the leaking sprinkler system. On my way across the courtyard I could hear them joking around with each other, talking about last night’s game and mocking the DJ’s choice of old rock tunes blasting from their radio. Now they're sitting on a low brick wall near their work area, eating burgers and French fries and drinking Cokes. They are covered in dirt but their mood is cheerful. And why shouldn’t they be happy? This January day it is 80 degrees and sunny and beautiful outside. The smell of their food and the warmth of the day reminds me of June days in high school when summer break was just around the corner.

As I sit in my overly air-conditioned office, going blind over the 18-page, size-10 font budget spreadsheet in front of me, I can only envy them their relative freedom and exposure to the sun. Not to mention their French fries.