Getting Hot in Here.

Sometimes I wonder if my tolerance for heat has decreased with age, or if there is something to global warming after all. As we march into June, the thermometer is climbing and I find myself acutely aware of the lack of air conditioning in my parent's house, not to mention the little blue number with great gas mileage that I call a car. The air conditioning was broken in our church this weekend, and somehow the fans up on the altar just weren't helping.

My parents didn't have air conditioning growing up, and of course neither did I. We've discussed it on occasion but the old metal casement windows on our Spanish stucco house aren't designed for an air conditioning unit. The year my folks finally broke down and got a ceiling fan for our living room was a milestone, and at the time made a huge difference.

I think I started giving in to the heat around college. My younger friends weren't phased by it, and had no trouble playing basketball in humid, ninety degree weather. I would retreat to our unfinished basement, below ground and perpetually cool, and blast a radio while I painted or drew in my studio. Once I got a computer, I spent more time in my room at ground level. With both windows open and an oscillating fan locked in and trained directly on me, a hot day was no problem.

Maybe office life has made me soft. I spend so much time in a conditioned environment, I can't bear the rise in temperature. I do notice an increase in the power of the sun, and I've learned to exercise caution and avoid some of the bad burns I've had in the past. At the beach last weekend, I wore sunblock and spent as much time as possible under a beach umbrella. My ankles burned though, just above my socks and just below my shins where my feet stuck out from the protection of the umbrella. A week later and the area is still bright red. Sun: 2, Sunblock: 0.

I'm not sure why the AC doesn't work in my car. My dad looked at it back when I bought it, and couldn't figure out the problem. My fans and vents work, but there's nothing like blowing hot air at oneself to increase lightheadedness on a brutal day. Rolling down both the passenger and driver's side windows and driving fast did wonders when I drove around on Saturday shopping for a friend's daughter's birthday party, and I thought about how cool a convertible would be. Of course, sunblock would be a must.

People get irritable in the heat. I saw so many people in my travels cut people off, and there was no waiting period where horns were concerned. A light would barely change before cars honked at the vehicles in front of them. In stores, people raced around with shopping carts and snapped at their children: “MOVE! I don't want to spend all day in here!” If it wasn't for people like that, I think I would want to spend a day in the cool confines of a department store.

Sunday morning, my dad and I are playing an Italian procession beginning at 8 AM and lasting about six hours. Hopefully, there will be plenty of stops along the way with refreshments, because I have a feeling even in the morning it's going to be hot. Saturday morning was sweltering, and I cut the lawn slowly, to avoid a head rush. As bad as my yard or a beach can be though, sometimes walking for hours on black pavement carrying a metal instrument can be worse.

I know it's early in the year to be complaining about the heat, and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better. Generations before me survived just fine without the crutch of air conditioning, and heat does make a body appreciate even the simplest things. I keep refilling bottles of water and putting them in the freezer for a bit before drinking them. When it's this hot, a cold glass of water tastes amazing. I love driving with my windows open, one arm hanging out as my hand surfs the breeze. When traffic parts and the road is clear, there's nothing else like it.

I should give my computer a rest soon; its fan is working extra hard right now. Also, I put a t-shirt in the freezer that should be “done” by now. Stay cool, Cloakfriends.