Friday, July 16, 2010

Hot Town, Summer in the City

While parts of the country have been dealing with triple-digit temps and cranking up the air conditioning, we who have chosen to live where 70 is a heat wave are asked to conserve. So we dutifully live in the dark while others luxuriate in their pools or in front of the air-conditioning. I've lived in the heat and have returned to my senses, thank you very much.

I grew up in a middle class neighborhood, built mostly in the early 60's. Nothing fancy but we did have curbs. No sidewalks; those were for the rich people on the next, newer street. We also did not have swimming pools. That, too, was for the fancy people above us. We had sprinklers and we had a Water Wiggle. For those of you not fortunate enough to have owned one of these entertaining devices, the attached commercial might refresh your memory. Looking at that commercial through the litigious eyes of a person who would, say, spill hot coffee in their lap then sue the restaurant that sold them the coffee, I see dollar signs. Through the eyes of a child, it was a blast. Oh sure, there were times it would THUNK you on the head or, better yet, wrap around your ankle then continue to ensnarl you like a boa constrictor until you could free yourself. Of course, as the hose got shorter and shorter, that put that vicious little smiling head ever so close to your face. You'd reach out and grab the hose trying to prevent it from smacking your face. Now THAT is a good time cooling off.

4 comments:

Monica... That One Girl said...

Looks like you tames it by stepping on it... smart girl. :-)

Thank goodness we live in a place where anything over 70-degrees is considered heat stroke weather, and you only need drive a half-hour to get hotter than that (or snow, the other part of the year).

beachcomber said...

Yep, you hold it by the neck, just like the snake it is. *Squeeling with delight*

Unknown said...

I remember those from when I was a kid. Then we had the slip-n-slide. One unnoticed rock under that tarp and you were OOC for the rest of the day.

beachcomber said...

I had a low-budget version of the slip-n-slide. I remember washing a big ground cloth after a Girl Scout camping trip. It was spread out on our lawn which was sloped. I had a blast, especially after I added a little soap. Cheap thrills are the best!