Summertime here in LA.
It was over 100 degrees today and people all over the city were out in shops and malls and movie theaters in an attempt to escape the heat. Even driving in the car was cooler than being at home since most Angelinos don’t have air-conditioned homes. After all, most of the year there is no need. The IV Index was 9 on a scale of 10, meaning it was not safe to spend much time out in the sun. My light-skinned husband avoids any sun exposure on these days since he will quickly get a burn and then often gets a fever in the evening as a result.
Alas, we holed up in our one air-conditioned bedroom this afternoon and watched television and dozed – along with our two dogs – over the course of several hours. We came downstairs at 7 to an oven of a house and cranked up the fans while we made a light dinner. Then we sat and watched a movie in the den with the windows wide open in every room, the doors open, and every fan going. It is almost 9:30 now and it is just beginning to cool off. The breeze is supposed to shift tomorrow and come in from the ocean. That will be a welcome relief.
It doesn’t take much of a shift in weather here in mild LA for everyone to recognize how good we usually have it. And also to see how quickly life goes from pleasant to miserable with just the addition of a few degrees of temperature. Words like “brutal” are used to describe the weather and “paralysis” is the state of being that takes over the city. We seize up, stop moving, complain loudly, and go from low-key and easy to high-strung and annoyed. It’s in moments like this that you realize what a major role weather plays in shaping people’s personalities.
Take talking slow in the South. If you have to contend with that level of heat and humidity – so much worse than our last few days here – then no wonder those folks all have a drawl. No hurry saying anything; no energy to articulate at some fast pace. Or is it a surprise that people from Maine are slightly stand-offish? After all, their winter weather is severe enough that outsiders come and go fairly routinely. We had occasion to know some people from Maine over the course of quite a few years and we knew them literally five years before they decided we might visit again routinely and be worth their time and energy. Weather seems to play a bigger role than we typically imagine.
Minnesota is supposed to have more choirs and choruses than almost any other state. Is that a wonder given the severe winter weather? It only makes sense that indoor activities that boost the mood might be thriving in those low temperatures. Or that Missouri is the “Show-Me” state. When you are there on long hot summer nights, you have nothing else taking up your time than discussions about people who are all talk but no action. Or, as they say in Texas, “All hat and no cattle.” Yes, temperatures high and low appear to have an impact on us human beings.
So, now we have hope of cool oceans breezes in the morning and I expect people here will head back out on the trails tomorrow for hikes or go over to that “hot” yoga class where they keep the temperature at 95 degrees while you work out. They will sweat because of that artificial heat; a concept that would produce a slow shake of the head from any Southerner. If you want heat like that, then just come on down to New Orleans in the summer. The humidity can curl your hair while you’re doing all that “hot” yoga right on the front lawn of your house.
As for me, I am heading up to take a quick cool bath before jumping into bed in our bedroom, which does not have the air conditioning. Our daughter is coming home tonight and her back bedroom is stifling. We’ll let her enjoy that cool, refrigerated air. Our room – if we both take a bath first – is warmish, but not miserable. As the night cools downs, so will we. After all, we have two fans running in there keeping us and our doggie companions as cool as possible without Freon.
So, off I go. Are you hot where you are or cool? Are you seeing fall in the color changes or are you still in the dog days of summer? Keep me informed. I love to read your comments.
Comments