I was sick last week and didn’t go out for a few days, and on the third day, I got a text from Amy McLenithan, who runs Amy’s Country Kitchen alongside the Farm Auction Barn. She wanted to know if I was all right.

This is why I love the country. They care about their neighbors up here.

When it’s bigger cold, I check on Amy in that open and drafty food wagon. She never complains, she is country tough, but when it’s really rough, she wraps her head in a scarf and peers out at her customers.

I appreciate Amy and her morning coffee, I think life is a series of rituals, Amy’s wagon is a special one for me.

I love to send her iPhone emojis especially the talking cow that tells her I’m coming for coffee. She’s getting used to it.