Be Cool, Boy...

The weather people weren't joking or wrong this time. This is really uncalled-for, and we aren't halfway thru this humid heat wave. Running from Wednesday thru Monday next, we in New England are melting, melting... Right now, at 10:25 p.m. EDSFT, it's 80'F, with 66% humidity, and a heat index of 83'F. A "Heat Advisory" is in effect. Which means tomorrow will actually be dangerously hot. This has already been brutal and we're only in the middle of summer.

August used to be the real scale of disgust. In August in NYC, the garbage reeked whether there was a strike or not, the subway platforms exuded a thick tang of urine that you could all but taste, and people lost their minds. But everyone who'd lived thru one NY August knew it was ten days or so of Hell and then over. That's not the case anymore, in NY or anywhere else in the northeast US. Now we have four or five days every couple of weeks that make you wish you could take off your skin and rattle around in your bones.

There are tricks if you don't have AC. Start by drinking a lot of fluids but avoid too much of caffeine. Take an aspirin. Let the cooler night air in and shut the house up in the morning, pulling shades and drapes closed to keep it dark. If you can, shower at midday. Wear as little clothing as possible and use baby powder. Don't exert yourself. Coordinate fans. If you can, mount an exhaust fan in the upper part of a window and let it pull a breeze through your house (this kept my family home cool in the worst dog days, before everyone had AC). If you must cook, do it at night when it's coolest and if you have an outdoor grill, use it. Hot foods and spicy foods will make you sweat, which can make you feel cooler. I'm not a great fan of sweating, myself. A wet towel around the neck is a good coolant and periodically splashing water on your skin helps, especially if you're sunburned. Use a mist bottle if you want. Stay out of the sun unless you absolutely have to be in it and wear a hat. These days are when sunstroke happens too easily. If your home becomes unbearable go to a cooling center; most towns offer them now. The library, stores, community centers, even municipal buildings and some churches offer an air-conditioned oasis. Use them. If you feel ill at all, seek a cooler shelter. And if you feel very ill, call for help. Don't play with the Heat Miser. He means business.