Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF

~ John W. Howell

The week has been a quick one for sure. We continue to have hot and humid days here on the Texas Coast. Of course, people always ask, “So what did you expect?” I think to some degree they are right. Having lived in San Antonio during the summer, one cannot expect snow in August.

When the heat gets really bad, I tend to think back to the times when there was no air conditioning. I always wonder how folks could bear to sleep in temperatures above eighty degrees.  I did it for two nights when the electricity was out during Hurricane Harvey, and I can double dog guarantee doing it for a longer time wouldn’t make it any easier.

I think our technology allows us to exist in areas where we probably should avoid. Also, that is the beauty of technology. Allowing expansion into areas that would otherwise be inhabitable. Today’s JohnKu talks about human destiny.  I hope you have a super weekend.

Destiny by John W. Howell © 2018

From the earliest,

Humans have sought to expand . . .

Where is the boundary?

63 thoughts on “Friday JohnKu – AKA – TGIF”

  4. I have air conditioning but I use the ceiling fans on high during the hot months instead because of the cost. Most older people probably do that here. They also leave doors and windows open but I don’t like the bugs. We have screens in this flat. I do leave doors open when the electricity goes off. Have a good weekend, John. 🙂 — Suzanne

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  5. I grew up in a high humidity area without AC. I agree—more time doing it doesn’t make it easier. But you do what you have to, right?

    The last line of your haiku got me thinking… where are our boundaries? With technology, do we even have any? (I feel the first hints of a story forming.)

    Try to stay cool, John. And happy weekend!

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  6. My sister-in-law is from Mobile. I don’t know what it is about her accent but when she says Mobile, it always sounds like a question.

    Anyway, I asked her how anyone could stand the heat without A/C. Her response was classic. “Oh,” she said, “in the summer without A/C, people get meeeaaaan.”

    And there was just something about the way she pronounced “mean” that made me never want to experience it.

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  7. You make a good point of technology and living in places that were difficult before. I’m not a fan of heat it’s much easier to warm up in winter over cooling down in summer! Great JohnKu…have a great weekend!

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    2. I’m the opposite in that it’s easier for me to get cool than get warm, plus I hate having to bundle up to go outside in the winter. More than glad I moved back to SE Texas, despite the humidity and mosquitoes.

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  9. I remember those air conditioning-less days after hurricanes, John — definitely NOT fun! I suppose being “spoiled” is rather nice (I know Dallas thinks so, ha!) Have a wonderful weekend!

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  12. John, I grew up in South Texas (Freer) and we didn’t have AC until I was about twelve. We had fans during the day and opened the windows at night. I do not want to go back to that time! After Hurricane Harvey we spent several nights without AC and opening the windows did not help much. Houses today, especially in town, are not built to catch the breezes. TGIF to you and have a good weekend. It should be a good beach weekend with not much wind and plenty of sun. Almost done reading “Contact.” Another good thriller! Cheers!

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  14. I’ve been watching your heat on the map. I remember days of being at the beach when I was a teen and there was no A/C in the place where we stayed. It never seemed to bother me then, but looking back on it I have no idea how I managed.

    We’ve had several days of flooding in my area. Things are only now just starting to get back to normal with bridges being opened. My house is fine, but floods kept me from getting to work and basically shut down Hershey for two days…not good in summer for a tourist town!

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  17. I grew up without A/C in Iowa until I was about twelve, and I don’t remember it being a problem. Of course, the ratio of grass and trees to concrete was different, and houses were built differently, with wide galleries, windows and doors situated to create cross-drafts, and so on.

    The night I landed in Monrovia, Liberia, it was 109F on the tarmac at 1 a.m. When I got to the hostel where I was staying, I got my first bit of advice from a Liberian: “You gonna hate this heat. You think about it, it kill you. Don’t think about it.” It actually helped!

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  18. I grew up without air conditioning, just open windows and doors, and later, box fans.I didn’t live in a place with air conditioning until I was 19. I have had to do without a/c for days from time to time over the years and it wasn’t fun. However, I think as I’ve gotten older I find it harder to deal with the loss of such ameniries. Yet another reason to hate hurricanes. Although I would rather be without a/c than heat during power of storm outages.

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  19. We adapt to our environment, over time. My neighbors are refugees from Iraq, and they were telling me the other day that in Iraq, the temperatures are quite often over 100, yet they have no electricity much of the time, no refrigeration, and often no running water. I’m like you … I am thoroughly spoiled by my air-conditioning, hot water on demand, electric light at the touch of a switch. But so many in this world don’t have any of that. Colour me thankful!!!

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    1. We are very fortunate, Jill. In most of the underdeveloped countries it is a matter of government inattention to the needs of the people. The poorer the population the less influence on infrastructure decesions. You can bet the head of state never goes without.

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  22. When I was a young girl we lived in the desert with no A/C. It never bothered me, now I’m in a milder climate and when it gets over 80 degrees in the house in the late afternoons in Summer the A/C comes on.
    Given the choice I’d rather live where it gets hot though. Once cold it takes too long for me to warm up, and my hands and fingers suffer terribly.

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    1. I’m with you Deborah. Wen we lived in Marin county and then in the town of Sonoma we never ran the air. We opened the house at night and then closed it up in the day. It was heaven. We always needed a feather comforter.

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