It's 9AM
They didn’t have air conditioning.
Just a fan bolted to the ceiling in the corner of the room.
We couldn’t wear shorts.
Just one of two brand new pair of Tuff Skin Jeans that had to last until Christmas.
And it was hot.
Hot like now hot.
Hotter than hell, it felt like, but then the only hell I’ve been in sense was hotter than this.
Think this is warm, go to a jungle on the equator.
Or desert valley CA.
It’s a different kind of heat.
It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.
If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
But some like it hot.
Like me.
I tend to prefer warmer days.
Even when the temp eyeballs 100 and decides it’s going to look back at it, I’m a fan.
Better for my bones.
Better for my muscles.
Plus I am heat trained and heat acclimated and it is the opposite of the thing I hate most.
Cold.
Hate is a strong word, but I am not a fan of icy cold weather.
Folks tell me they like it cold because they can shed clothes as they warm up, but when it’s hot, there’s only so much you can shed.
I say stand in the shade.
Ever heard the expression, it’s twenty degrees cooler in the shade?
Folk wisdom that’s more wisdom than folk.
The problem is, most of the places we go, they chop down all the trees and make parking lots or buildings that sit directly in the sunlight.
Black asphalt and a hundred degree sunshine create an effect.
Then like the man suggested in the song, it’s too hot baby.
You got to run for shelter, you got to run for shade.
I hate to tell people two things.
It was hotter than this when we didn’t have AC to start school.
At least twice that I can remember.
Sweaty kids stink, and I can recall the odor of thirty bodies packed into a sauna like class room after recess on a playground with just two trees.
Poor teachers.
Poor kids.
Who wants to learn when you can’t see the chalkboard due to sweat dripping in your eyes?
At least kids can wear shorts now at most places.
And they have the AC cranked so much, a lot of kids pack hoodies and pullovers to burrow in for class.
It’s like when things get too hot to handle, we swing too far to the other side and create an imbalance.
We brag about Spring and pray for Fall but turn the insides of our homes and schools and businesses into the icy depths of winter.
All in the name of comfort.
Are you comfortable?
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Admittedly, my apartment overlooks the Niagara River, but I have lived here for years and never even needed a fan, just open the windows and let the breeze cool me. I much prefer the hot over the cold (I know, living in Western New York makes little sense but I have family here).
As I head outside to dig more mustard weed in today's near 100 degree "fall", I know comfort will be found when I drag myself back inside and park in front of the swamp cooler. Satisfaction also.
Thought you might find inspiration here:
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-one-traffic-light-town-with-some-of-the-fastest-internet-in-the-us