ABSTRACT
Samuel T. Benito Jr., or “Samson” to his friends, stopped the tractor just a few inches in front of the barn door; he wasn’t sure how he came so close. Guess he hadn’t been paying attention as much as he should have been. Sure, he had a few beers with his lunch and then another couple when Jack his neighbor stopped by midafternoon to return the saw he had borrowed. It was a hot summer day in July; who wouldn’t need a little cooling off? Mr. Benito knew it was dangerous to drink and then drive farm equipment, but he could handle it-he had been doing it since he was a teenager. If he couldn’t drink a few beers and still do the afternoon chores, who could? But he had to admit that at the age of 78, he seemed to be starting to feel the effects of the alcohol more than when he was younger. Actually, the more he thought about it, maybe it wasn’t his age. It might be the medication that Doc Hegge gave him last week, something about his blood pressure being too high. Oh well, maybe he should give up the beer for a while. But the last time he tried, he was hot, sweaty, and even a bit shaky-which really was dangerous when working around farm machinery. Maybe he would just try to cut down a little; yes, that was the answer.
