Recently, a dear friend of mine who grew up here in The Fort but escaped for cooler climates soon after college and headed north returned for a family funeral. She’s back in Connecticut now, and I called her as she was sitting on her porch this morning, enjoying her coffee in 64-degree weather.
“I have NO idea how you people do it!,” she cried. “My hair doesn’t work when the ‘feels like’ temp is 108. I couldn’t wear any dark colors, and my eye make-up was running down my face – not because I was crying – but because it was melting. I mean, how do you even leave your house?!”
And she meant it. Not only that, but air conditioning units in Southwest Florida are dropping like flies, including at my house. Thankfully, we have our Airstream travel trailer, Diana, and she boasts not one, but two A/C units, so we’ve been glamping in our backyard of late as we wait for the installation of our brand new unit — which basically means that our kids are going to have to fight over it when we’re gone because the cost is of the air conditioner is their entire inheritance…