We're in the middle of a heat wave in upstate New York and everyone is miserable. In winter it's so cold here for about half the year, that I pray for sunshine and/or temps above 40 degrees all of the time, and now that Nature has finally brought the heat, my ass is complaining along with the rest of them.
There is something mind-numbing about incessant heat like this. Not only can you not think, you can't even do anything to take your mind off the heat. Because the only thing that can take your mind off the heat is air conditioning. It's like HEATHEATHEATHEAT drumming in my brain. I can't run, can't do yard work, can't even sit out in the living room and watch tv. All I can do is hole up in the room with the window unit, drink iced wine, watch DVDs, and read books.
Does excessive heat make you lazy both physically and intellectually? I say YES. Before you go formulating a theory that cites heat as the causal factor for why Southerners are largely stereotyped as imbeciles, I would remind you that air conditioning is pervasive in the Southern states.You need only experience the heat minimally if you live down South. This is because if you are Southern, your home has central a/c, as does every home and public building you could conceivably visit, guaranteed, cher. (Woe to the person who must attend an outdoor sporting event in the summer.) The only time you might experience the full force of the heat is when transitioning between indoor locations, or upon first entering your vehicle, and then it's only a few minutes before the a/c kicks in. These people don't play--they know what heat does to the brain. Remember the Civil War? Katrina? Catastrophic events that were, however indirectly, caused by the excessive Southern heat and made worse by the lack of on-demand air conditioning. 'Nuff said.
But I'm not in the South anymore. Up here in New York, where the summers are (usually) temperate, it is not unusual to have seasonal window units instead of central a/c. We only have the one window unit installed right now, so I have been camping out in our bedroom every night this week with a glass of red wine and my laptop, trying to amuse myself while I stay cool. The pugs have been sleeping with us in here at night, and sheltering in the basement during the day. The flowers in our garden crumple in the heat, and the grass is drying up in spots despite our efforts to keep it watered.
Inevitably my thoughts stray as they always do to ancient peoples and how they would have dealt with the heat. Most probably, they lived near water, and could take a cooling dip in said water anytime they wished. Also, they didn't have 9 to 5 jobs, and so could move about freely and care for their children and loved ones in times of heat crisis. They had no knowledge of soap so didn't care if they were greasy and sweaty. And unlike most of us modern peoples, ancient peoples probably accepted the periods of inactivity induced by extreme heat as par for the course, and were therefore well-practiced in napping. Those ancient peoples had way more sense than we do.
Excuse me while I brave the heat to fetch another glass of red wine.
