Living Outside the Lines: “It’s Getting Hot in Here”

by, Becky J Miller

 

Texas is HOT y’all!!! It is not uncommon for temperatures to hover in the high 90’s, except for maybe the three cold days in January. How did folks, particularly those living in the hottest regions of the U.S. survive prior to the invention of air conditioning?

 

According to popularmechanics.com, “In 1902 Willis Carrier invented the Apparatus for Treating Air for the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York. The machine blew air over cold coils to control room temperature and humidity to keep paper from wrinkling and ink aligned. Finding that other factories wanted to get in on the cooling action, Carrier establishes the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America.”

 

All I can say is thank you Jesus and Willis for the brilliance of that invention. Being hot is miserable; being hot makes people cranky, and overall being hot just stinks!

 

As we headed for bed on a Friday evening I mentioned to my husband that the house felt a bit warm. It was said casually in passing, and no action was taken. Normally on Saturday mornings we get up at the same time and head out together for a run, but this particular morning he was up before me and out the bedroom door. He returned a few minutes later with the devastating news, “Our air conditioner is broken.”

 

Our home is beyond the builder’s warranty, but we have an extended warranty through another company. We pay a small monthly fee; in exchange, we call this company for any home maintenance issues, they send a repairman and no matter the actual cost, we pay a set fee. Of course there are pro’s and con’s to this type of arrangement. The pro, we always know what the repair will cost. The con, we are at the mercy of the contracted entity’s schedule.

 

This time, the pro did not outweigh the con, as we had to wait FOUR days for our air conditioner to be fixed, four days with heat advisories in effect. It’s really bad when the outside temperatures are approximately ten degrees cooler than inside. Initially we kept all the curtains and windows closed hoping to trap the cool air, it didn’t work. The cool air escaped rather quickly and hot, stifling air took up residence.

 

Cold showers offered the only relief. Of course, one doesn’t really feel clean after a cold shower, particularly if the body entering the shower is excessively sweaty and odoriferous. Forget accomplishing anything on a “to do” list; heat equals lethargy and kills any desire to be productive.

 

Dressing for work Monday and Tuesday mornings was especially fun. Hair and make-up could be addressed au natural, but shoe, belt and earring choices had to be experimented with after dressing, while facing the mirror standing behind where the fan blew. A black cloud definitely followed me out the front door those two days, as sweat is not something I usually wear to work.

 

When the repairman showed up at the front door, my husband almost kissed him! In less than fifteen minutes, the air conditioner was fixed, and our home was making the slow descent to once again being in the temperature range comfortable for human life.

 

During the heat spell, one thought kept replaying in my mind, “How did Scarlett O’Hara endure the brutal Southern heat without air conditioning?” Yes, I am fully aware she is a fictitious character, but in my mind she represents Southern women & their civil war garments. Those women wore five layers of clothes to include a chemise, stockings, corset, crinoline/petticoats, camisole, bodice, skirt, and shawl. It’s amazing that the human race did not just die out during that era.

 

As life in the Miller household returns to our kind of normal, properly functioning air conditioning has been added to the list of creature comforts that though we sometimes take them for granted, we are incredibly grateful to have.

 

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller

“Warrior Princess”

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