I remember this German graduate student in Philadelphia living in a nearby apartment one particularly hot summer with no AC. How did she stay cool? She threw ice in her bathtub and stretched out in it from time to time, until after dark. I thought that was a pretty cool way to stay cool, perfect for an ice queen. (Actually she was a hipster, sharp as a brass tack -- unlike my German office mate at work, who was clammy and mouselike . . . But that's another story).
In heatwaves, how do you stay cool during the month of Thermidor? I go for the obvious: swimming indoors when possible (such as at the gym), AC, overhead fans, desk fans, standup fans, window fans -- whatever is available and whatever works. Despite Vitamin D benefits and all that jazz, I don't like bright sun and I certainly don't like high humidity combined with high heat. Like the Ramones, I'm against it! But I am all for cold drinks of various types. How about you?
Today's Rune: Protection.
8 comments:
Erik -- VERY funny. The Ramones quote and the anti-sunlight comment ("and all that jazz"). I laghed out loud causing my cat to stare at me.
I am of two minds about the heat -- I don't like it but I like the summer. I have also had skin cancer so I now wear SPF shirts, etc. I also wear a hat and sunblock everyday of the year -- and I live in Boston, not Pheonix.
Thanks for your comments on the beach reading article. I find the Hamptons to be stuffy and so exlusive that I can have quite a resentment going by the second day I'm there. Since a couple of family members have had places there, I go and of course, I love the ocean. The article was a way to actually meet some of the inhabitants and I actually enjoyed meeting them -- they were a nice group. I did see one young man wearing a tee shirt with "Socialist" on the front -- I wanted to hug him.
I remember one really godawful heatwave in Minnesota (I actually *saw* a brown lawn catch fire in the sun!) when I shared an unventilated third-floor walkup with a woman who no longer loved me. Setting a bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan helped, as did a cool bath without drying off, so that the water would evaporate off my flesh...
The summer ended. The scars that woman left on my soul were slower to fade.
These days open doors, few clothes and lots and lots of cold liquor are my recipe for summer success!
One benefit to being me is I don't care about hot, humidity, cold, snow or anything in between. the only thing I know is the seasons are reversed, it should be cold in July and Hot in February.
Lana puts coverings over all the windows to keep the heat out and we keep the AC high. I don't mind heat so much as humidity, and we've got that in spades here. I hate having my clothes just stick to me.
I am very much a slave to weather. My husband says I have the smallest comfort zone on record-60-75.
Erik, NONONONONNOOOO! You simply MUST get out and suffer! Swim and sun outdoors. Drink icy cold ones. Cheer the sunsets that cool us down a bit. Marvel at the furious thunderstorms, and realize that winter is just around the corner! Stay cool!
Thanks all very much for the comments re: cats on a hot tin roof, as it were. Triggers so many additional memories of heatwaves. Mark K, the best things about summer are in your article -- the fact that people can be outside and read and "chill" or walk around. That is definitely a heartening essay.
Steve, that sounds about right. Sorry for the broken heart, though. WM, isn't that how things are in the southern hemisphere? Charles, agreed on excessive humidity. Y'all are too much -- no matter what degrees of temp separation! I'll drink something cold to that!
How to stay warm...that's the question. Anything below 25 degrees (that's Celcius) and my body gets confused.
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