July 2011

July 13, 2011: Oh My God, it is so dang hot! It is nearly like having a "hot flash", except it just doesn't go away.

I've found that as I get older, it is harder to adjust my inner core to extremes of hot and cold. Living in Florida, anything below 70 degrees is sock and long sleeves for me. Anything above 73 degrees is "strip it all off" weather. So as you can see, I am limited to a few degrees of change. I hope as the years pass that the margin doesn't decrease any more, because I will be very confused about proper attire for the day. I don't want to be one of those old ladies that has to wear socks with sandals.

I have also found that I perspire a lot more than before. As with "hot flashes", my face seems to take the brunt of the sweat. OK, so some time soon, I expect to see myself with socks, sandals, and a terry cloth head band. What a lovely sight that would be!

I just don't remember ever being this dependent on Air Conditioning. When I was little, our family had a huge window fan that pulled cool air into the house. I remember, on sultry summer nights, there would be a pallet made on the floor in front of the front door and we would sleep there. Odd, people don't know what a pallet is anymore, or make them on the floor. I would bet that if you asked anyone under 50 they wouldn't have a clue as to what your were talking about if you said, "I made a pallet on the floor".

The other thing about summer heat is that even though it is unbearable at 60, I still look forward to warm days and nights. I seem to have this fantasy about enjoying the summer evenings on the porch. People just don't sit on the porch anymore. Or there are planned communities that emulate the old neighborhoods, where it is fashionable to sit on the front porch. Disney has one in Orlando. I don't like that you have to plan to have a real neighborhood. It is a shame that folks just don't enjoy their communities, and neighborhoods.

So, grab a glass of lemonade or a beer, and go sit on the front porch and give folks something to talk about. Like, did you see that old woman, with the socks on with her sandals, sitting on her front porch.