Air conditioning is one of the most significant inventions of the 20th Century. Without it there’s be no Phoenix or Las Vegas or Houston or Orlando as we know them Air conditioning made those cities livable.
I say I like summer. Of course, I am protected from its more difficult side. I walk from the car to the Hartford Courant Building. That’s it. The rest of my day is spent under climate control.
I am spoiled.
There are many people without air conditioning by choice. Please comment. I don’t understand why you do that.
There are many people who can’t afford air conditioning. That’s awful. This weather can kill, even if you’re just sitting at home!
We had no air conditioning growing up. It was less widespread then, especially in my parent’s income bracket.
Fifth floor apartment. Windows open. We looked onto a complex of parking lots and an open space where people gathered on hot summer nights. It was tough trying to sleep as a kid with loud conversations down below.
We were also under an approach pattern to LaGuardia. Prop planes. Lower and slower. The building would shake!
Air traffic let up at night. It didn’t disappear.
I moved to Florida for my first fulltime job in radio after college¹. I got a little apartment near the center of Lake Worth, FL. No air conditioning!
I remember lying in bed, hoping for a breath of air to remove some of my sweat. Summer nights in South Florida are still!
Here in Connecticut a real estate agent tried selling us a non-air conditioned home by saying, “It’s the shoreline. You don’t need air conditioning.” Uh huh.
Plants and flowers grow in the warmth. Daylight lasts longer. You don’t have to drive in snow.
I love summer.
¹ – Considering my college experience, I might not be entitled to all seven letters. I’ve only earned ‘col.’
