Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Air conditioning
About 11 pm last night, when I walked into the other room in this apartment to get something, I thought, Thank heaven for air conditioning. Outside temp had fallen to low 80s, but humidity had climbed to 90%. The room was oppressive.
I recalled my parents buying an air conditioner back when it was a major appliance purchase, like a washing machine, & installing it in their bedroom window. None of us kids thought that was unfair, but it didn't prevent envy. We had ancient swivel fans in our bedrooms, indestructible metal things about as effective at stirring up the air as waving a comic book around. They made repetitive clacking sounds as they swiveled, which either put us to sleep or in my case kept me awake. About every 30 seconds one of those fans would send a brief, faint breeze as it pointed toward the bed. We were reminded that the bosses were snoozing contentedly under a light blanket whenever we went to the bathroom, directly across from their tightly shut door, to splash some cool water on face & neck.
Even now, most older houses don't have central air. Maybe a hole is cut in a first floor outside wall & a large unit shoved in it, as a few of my acquaintances have done. It's not very efficient but it usually works. The bedrooms need their own a/c, & if you have small children you have to keep adjusting the temp & making sure the kids aren't sleeping in the path of an arctic wind. A divorcee I used to visit checked her restless 4 year old's room habitually on the half-hour during TV commercial breaks, even though the thermostat seemed to work pretty good. & always remember to turn them off in the morning, or the electric bill will remind you too late.
I recalled my parents buying an air conditioner back when it was a major appliance purchase, like a washing machine, & installing it in their bedroom window. None of us kids thought that was unfair, but it didn't prevent envy. We had ancient swivel fans in our bedrooms, indestructible metal things about as effective at stirring up the air as waving a comic book around. They made repetitive clacking sounds as they swiveled, which either put us to sleep or in my case kept me awake. About every 30 seconds one of those fans would send a brief, faint breeze as it pointed toward the bed. We were reminded that the bosses were snoozing contentedly under a light blanket whenever we went to the bathroom, directly across from their tightly shut door, to splash some cool water on face & neck.
Even now, most older houses don't have central air. Maybe a hole is cut in a first floor outside wall & a large unit shoved in it, as a few of my acquaintances have done. It's not very efficient but it usually works. The bedrooms need their own a/c, & if you have small children you have to keep adjusting the temp & making sure the kids aren't sleeping in the path of an arctic wind. A divorcee I used to visit checked her restless 4 year old's room habitually on the half-hour during TV commercial breaks, even though the thermostat seemed to work pretty good. & always remember to turn them off in the morning, or the electric bill will remind you too late.
Labels: growing up, home furnishings, weather
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"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
My grandmother is 90 and lives on the 2nd floor of an apartment that doesn't have central air. She has the wall units to keep her cool, but it seems so unbearable to most people. For her though, it's all she's ever known.
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