Welcome to the Swelter Belt

I know many of you live here permanently and could just as soon quietly die of heat stroke than hear one more peep about current temperatures, but for those of you who aren't from around here there are a few details one needs to to know while visiting the Swelter Belt.

First of all, no matter how cute it sounds, and frankly it doesn't sound all that cute, asking anyone, "Is it Hot Enough For Ya?" not only marks you as a tourist, it's the kind of idiotic comment that can put your life instantly in jeopardy. It IS hot enough for us which gives us cause to be real cranky.

Another overused comment to keep to oneself is the one about it not being the heat, but rather the humidity. When, at 8 a.m. you step from a cool shower in an air conditioned house and by 8:15 you are profusely sweating it's the heat. When you stop at the market on the way home to pick up a bottle of milk which, during the 12 minute ride from the store to home, curdles, it is the heat. When having a bowl of ice cream on the front porch sounds to anyone older than age four like a lousy idea it IS the heat.

Some folks, I suppose, are more acclimated to heat than others. If you live in the southern states along the gulf coast where it is sticky miserable 8 months out of the year, one presumes that eventually a body gets used to it. But those of us in the midwest whose thermometer guage ranges from the depths of sub-zero winters to the current outrageous angry high heat, we're confused for the first ten days or so of a heat wave. "Is this really happening," we wonder. Didn't we just put away our galoshes? Isn't summer supposed to be "Fun in the Sun" season. Sticking to the car seat and not being able to breathe is somehow not so much fun as one might imagine.

So do yourself a favor, grab something tall and cool. Pick up a quiet, solitary activity like reading (it's way too hot to crochet). Sit under a tree or near a fan. As night falls you won't feel any cooler, but you can pour something potent into your tall glass. Pretty soon, for no reason, you'll feel more chipper about both the heat and the humidity... for a little while.

Y'all come back now... ya hear.

For any of you who have wondered where I've been for the last ten days or so, as I pop in sporadically, my computer is in the hot part of the house. My bedroom and my kitchen are air conditioned... the rest of my house is not. We seem to be getting a reprieve. Right this minute it's only 87 ... I might need a jacket. I hope all is cool as can be where you are.