Today is the last day of July, and the weather here in Alabama reflects it, and then some. Even when the temperature sounds reasonable, the humidity makes it unbearable. Last week, because of rain and clouds, we had a high of 82 one day. The weather people cheerfully informed us that the heat index on this supposedly mild day would make it feel like 102. They were right.
Heat is not, of course, endemic only to the southeastern United States. I have known people who traveled to Phoenix, Arizona in the summer when the mercury there climbed to 120 degrees. Here in Alabama, we say that it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity that makes things uncomfortable. The people returning from Arizona solemnly informed me that there, it’s the heat, only the heat and nothing but the heat.
Once, my husband and I went to Boston in late June, and the weather was so beautiful, it blew us away. Highs in the low 80s, beautiful blue skies, refreshing breezes and the type of air that just begs you to drive around with your windows open. When things get too unbearable here, I close my eyes and try to bring those feelings back to mind.
Normally, in my life here, the heat is an outdoor inconvenience only. I endure it as I travel from my air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car to the parking garage at work, and then into the office. However, last Saturday, our air conditioner died. And yes, I mean the three-month-old air conditioner in the three-month-old house that we took possession of in April. To say that I was perturbed was an understatement. It also happened to be the hottest weekend leading to the hottest week we have had all summer.
With the help of four portable air conditioners, we were getting by—one in each of the bedrooms where people sleep, and two in the big main room. Then, beginning Sunday night, the replacement portable air conditioner in our bedroom started malfunctioning. The display kept showing a symbol which meant that the drip tray needed to be emptied. We would empty the tray, and then at vanishingly small intervals the symbol would reappear. By the time the air conditioner quit at 12:30, my husband had moved into the den. He was trying to be chivalrous. When he left the bedroom, he was leaving the room with better air conditioning for the big room which was just squeaking by. My daughter, who had entered my bedroom to get some medicine, helped me empty the thing one more time for the 12:30 a.m. round. When the drip tray sensor tripped again at 2:00 a.m., I gave up and opened the window to get what little night air I could. My husband hadn’t slept well for several nights running, and I didn’t want to wake him up. When the alarm went off at 6:00, I had managed about two hours of sleep for the entire night, which my Fitbit cheerfully documented by telling me it looked like I had had a rough night. It doesn’t do any good to swear at a computer, but it made me feel better.
The air conditioner repair people arrived by 8:45 Monday morning, and fortunately the new home warranty covers the whole repair. Living through the weekend without our normal air conditioning did make me wonder how our pioneer ancestors managed it, especially considering the amount of clothes the women had to wear. The fortitude they had to persevere and settle in an area of the country where it stays this warm for months at a time is something those of us in the modern world cannot appreciate. And the restraint they showed in not murdering each other while under the influence of hot, humid weather is admirable as well. My regular even-keeled temper stayed on the razor’s edge of raging bull mad as long as the air conditioning was AWOL.
I have one last piece of advice for anyone stuck in a heatwave sans air conditioning—find someone with a Ford vehicle and get them to take you for a long drive. We have had several Fords, including one now, and Ford air conditioners can freeze you out within 60 seconds of entering the vehicle. I’m not sure what their magic ingredient is, but it works.
So, here’s to the end of July, and hopes for a cooler August, or at least an August during which everyone’s air conditioner works.
No comments:
Post a Comment