Everyone’s downing water as if there’s an imminent drought

Iced coffee, water, espresso, beverages the color of summer.

Everywhere you look, people are drinking something; they’re walking down the street holding lidded disposable cups or one of those triple insulated mammoth vessels that keep a drink’s temperature steady for a minimum of six months. No one braves the urban jungle unarmed. Even kids won’t leave to school without a bottle of water.

Or two.

Or three.

We’re fixated on liquid intake; we’re a nation focused on hydration.

My friend Leah has her water delivered. They drop it at the curb, leaving her with the job of hauling cases of water to her garage. Who started this water craze, she asks, perplexed, frustrated, and probably exhausted, too, from all that schlepping.