that's HOT

TV is rife with shows about tough men these days. "tougher in alaska", "ice road truckers", "deadliest catch". but i'll tell you who the toughest men are, and they'll never get a TV show. they are the men laying and repairing highways in nevada. that's right. even the folks (who are sometimes women) holding the STOP and GO signs near the road work are tougher than crab fishermen or ice road truckers. for one thing, we don't need crabs. so those fishermen are putting their lives at risk for your fancy dinner, not so our country can function. so while it would definitely suck to get swept into the bering sea and it can't be fun working in frigid, icy conditions, they can all put on protective gear, can't they? they can make some attempt to stay semi-bearlably-warm in the wintry conditions. what can road workers in nevada in temperatures over 115 degrees fahrenheit do? they can't work naked, for sure (though frankly i wouldn't mind seeing some of those hard-hatted fellas in the raw). in fact, if anything, they have to wear more clothes to protect them from the sun as they work with steaming, stinking tar in the brutal heat of the day. no siestas for these guys. no flowing arab robes to catch whatever breeze might exist. there isn't a tree in sight to rest under in that vast, fearsome desert. they can't flip a switch for the relief of AC until whatever time they get home that night. and if the desert heat wasn't enough to kill them, there's also you and me and the 18-wheelers motoring by and taking them for granted, if not cursing the traffic inconvenience their work incurs. so while America sits on its ass, enthralled by how 'tougher in alaska' it is, it's even tougher on route 15 outside las vegas. when those ice road truckers take off their parkas and work in the elements without protection, then i'll be impressed.