A Moment of ConscienceWith its usual cunning, the savage summer sun had done its worst to my skin, the effects not felt until later, until I was back at the farmhouse after my ordeal, the burn developing like a photograph, radiating its fiery heat in the dark of the windowless room where I sat for an hour sipping beer. My skin stung the most on my shoulders, nose, forehead and scalp, those areas of my body that had borne the brunt of the infernal blaze, while my legs, submerged in water for a good deal of time, were still white save for my already sunburned thighs. I also sported two irregularly shaped white discs around my eyes. I looked like a panda. So much for sunscreen. Adding to my woes, I was fast developing a pounding headache that painkillers failed to touch. I felt nauseous, I ha
