It’s so hot and humid right now that I find myself hanging
out more and more in the comfort of my air conditioned house. I have so much
gratitude for whoever it was who invented air conditioning.
When I was 5 years old, Pop transferred from a small weather
station in Luthersburg, Pennsylvania to Charlotte, North Carolina. We landed at
the airport on a hot summer day in Charlotte back in the days when you left the
plane by walking down the movable stairs straight onto the hot tarmac. We had a
lovely meal at a restaurant where my sister and I had broccoli for the first
time and liked it. And then Pop took us to our new home he had rented for us on
Mayfair Avenue—a house with no air conditioning, not even a window unit.
Pop was concerned about the heat since none of us were used
to it. He wanted to keep the curtains closed in the heat of the day and had my
sister and I take midday naps—not that either of us really wanted to take naps.
At night, we kept the windows open. Yes, open windows at night back in those
days when families didn’t feel threatened by home invasions, child kidnappers,
and the like. Hard to imagine such freedom these days.
When the weather turned humid, I remember the discomfort of
trying to sleep between damp sheets and wishing for a breeze to come through
that window. Rain, even thunderstorms were welcome on most occasions because
they brought with them a temporary relief. Of course, there were those times
when rain just added to the humidity.
Pop did try to bring relief to us when he installed an
industrial sized air conditioner which operated on the theory of evaporation.
He hosed down the huge unit’s special padding every day and turned that thing
on. It blew in cool air, but since it was operating on evaporation, it added to
the humidity and misery. Also, it caused mold to grow on anything leather. So
much for those expensive shoes and pocketbooks. So we went back to plan A with
open windows and darkened rooms. Honestly, it was a greater relief to go out
and play in the shade of the woods and splash around in the creek during the
day.
When Mom and Pop bought a house, it was one with high
ceilings and a hallway downstairs that helped move air through the house. This
was the house where my sister and I grew up and we quickly acclimated to the
lack of a central heating and cooling system. Because of Mom’s heart disease,
Pop did get a window unit air conditioner for their bedroom to allow her some
comfort. My parents were Yankee transplants having been born and raised in the
mountainous north central Pennsylvania, and therefore, had a harder time
adjusting to the heat.
Like most people these days I have central air. I try to be conservative
by keeping the temperature at 76-78 degrees during the day and 74 at night.
Ceiling fans make a huge difference in my tolerance to the heat. As long as I
have those wonderful ceiling fans, I’m good. Still, there are times when I look
back on those days and wonder how we survived the heat and humidity of summer.
I have a heap of gratitude for that hard working air conditioner in my
backyard.
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