Home. It may not look it, but it is hot.
Lord, whatever it is you’re baking outside, it’s done!
-Anon
A heat dome up and squatted on a good portion of the US, including Marlborough, for the past few days. The heat index is as high as 104℉ and the lows never get below the high 70s — too hot to walk Waldo in his thick sable birthday suit, even if we get up before dawn. So, we’ve been staying inside in the AC, with only short poop and pee jaunts out into the furnace.
When I grew up, in the days when, in the winter, we had to walk to school in a blizzard, a mile each way, uphill both ways, we didn’t have AC. It existed, but not for the common man is his vaunted castle. In cars, air conditioning was by Armstrong – you had to crank down the windows by hand and you were very careful what you put your bare skin on. I can only wonder how the border collie breed survived.
I’ve been in hotter conditions. I can remember, when I was twelve, standing in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, and the temperature was 114℉ in the shade. And there was no shade nearby. There was a shallow reflecting pool of water. I was tempted to jump in and go as deep as I could, clothes and all. I realized I would need a scuba tank to stay underwater, and that created an itch that I finally scratched in college — learning to scuba dive.
Then, there was the time I traveled back from Djibouti to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, on a third-class train. Not too far away is the Danakil Depression (maximum temperature measured there is 131℉), one of the hottest places on Earth. The train was extremely slow – it stopped at every village with more than two tukuls (small waddle and daub round huts with thatched roofs). The trip lasted a good twelve hours, we had no water, and by the time we got to Dire Dawa, I was very dehydrated. The better part of wisdom told me not to trust the water, so I drank Coke instead. After 8, 8-ounce bottles of the stuff, I finally broke into a sweat. Since then, I reach for a nice cold Coke when I’m hot and dry.
There were many other times that I suffered through hot times because I had to. I was younger then and I could abuse my body more intensely and not suffer any long-term repercussions. These days, now that I’m in my mid-70s, I usually prefer a less… adventurous approach. I’ll stay inside in the AC, thank you very much, and suffer the consequences to my bank account. I get no argument from Waldo, either.
When it’s nice and cool outside, Waldo will go out to his balcony throne and spend the entire day out there, surveying his dogdom and giving out requisite dicta. He’ll come in if he’s thirsty, or hungry, or needs to do a bathroom loop around the property, but, other than that, he’s ensconced on his seat of power. In this heat, he goes out, does a woof or two, just to let the world know he’s there and watching, then comes back in and lies down.
Sometimes, he’ll go out for a little longer and lie down under the air conditioner. Condensed water drips down on his fur and cools him off a bit, but not for long in these temperatures. He also likes to lap up the water that collects in puddles below the AC. I try to keep an eye on how much he’s drinking and make sure he has enough, but I can’t. He won’t drink out of the bowl I keep for him inside. I have no idea why that water isn’t good enough, but, apparently, outside water, that doesn’t come from a tap, is better. The only way I know he’s getting enough to drink is by the fact that he has to go out and pee on a regular basis.
When we do go out for Waldo’s biological needs, we do our regular 15 minute, ½ mile loop. Once back in the apartment, Waldo lays on his side on the bare floor, with his tongue stretched all the way out, panting fervently (I’m dripping with sweat). After he cools off, he rolls over onto his belly, puts his chin on his paws and sighs. There is no frenzied demonstration of pent-up border-collie energy that’s in emergent need of release. It’s just too damn hot. When he was younger, there might have been a pause of a half-hour or so, then he’d be ready to go again, no matter the weather. Now, he’s a bit more sedate.
You could say that I am better off in my 70’s in the 2020s, than I was in my 20’s in the 1970s (or before), if for no other reason than because of the omnipresent AC. Still, there are places I like to be, like Switzerland, where it still gets as hot as 90℉ and no one has home AC. And you know what? If given the chance, I’d still go to Agra and the Taj Mahal and take that slow third-class train through the deserts of East Africa and enjoy it. But I think I’d be a little more aggressive about finding some nice cool place to rest afterward.
The good news? Tomorrow the forecast is for a temperature of 69℉ all day long.
Assebet River Rail Trail, here we come!
Clear skies, hot temps!