I thought about all of the summers spent in Louisiana. I remember open, screened windows and constant breezes. My grandmother would put a box fan in her living room window, fan blowing outward, and it would be quite pleasant in her house.
I’ve been sheltering in place since Gov. Hogan gave the order. In all of this time, and particularly for the past few weeks, unless it was chilly out, I just opened the windows, and enjoyed the fresh air coming in. On rainy days, it was nice. On occasion, I’d turn on the ceiling fans, and that would suffice—that is until this week. “No problem”, I thought as I made more strawberry lemonade. I closed the windows, went to the thermostat and switched on the AC. Not until after an unusually long (probably heat induced) nap, did I realize it was getting hotter inside, and something was very wrong. It was 85 degrees. I changed the thermostat batteries. Nothing. The AC was as silent as my car had been last month when I attempted to turn it on. Clearly, the inanimate things in my life don’t like being ignored or neglected.
I immediately thought about the companies my parents utilized. I could almost hear them say, “Look in that book in the drawer and get the number to Belair.”
I found the number, and a masked tech (only the second person who’s entered since the Verizon guy came in March) was dispatched right away. He determined what was wrong. Ironically it was the fan that would have to be replaced. He checked and changed most of the filters, and since it was late, he’d be returning the next day.
Today, another masked tech arrived. Quarantine visitor number three. I had been waiting to see that shiny white truck as if it was Santa’s sleigh. Just as his co-worker had done, he entered (shoes covered) and went right to work.
Warren and Abe are my July, frontline heroes. God bless them, and I don’t want to hear anyone complaining about wearing a mask.
My purse will be lighter, and my quarantine budget adjusted, but my future will be considerably cooler.
When Abe left, I vacuumed and, again, hearing my parent’s voices, closed the windows. “Hey! We can’t cool the outside!”
It’s imperative now, in these last and evil quarantine days, to be comfortable. One’s tolerance, priorities, and preferences change as one ages. That carefree little girl in Louisiana, and her relationship with heat, is long gone. She was experiencing the same Summer as everyone else—not a personal one, too.
AC, based on the weather reports I heard, is not negotiable.
#quarantinelife
#itsreallyhot
#stayhydrated
#whoyougonnacall
#BelairEngineering
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