Not Sherry

It has been one year since we jumped ship and traded in snow boots for flip flops. I’m pretty sure it’s been the fastest year of my life! If I didn’t know better I’d think I have been caught in some sort of time-space continuum that shortened a year by six months. It sounds so cliché and trite to talk about the passage of time that we all experience and all feel goes far too quickly, but I am amazed that it is October and a year since this new direction took flight.

So, how do I feel? I’m not sure. It’s been a year of discovery. There’s a big difference between visiting a place and living there, as I knew there would be. It’s impossible not to compare one place to another, and when comparing Florida to Colorado you’ve got some big differences to measure.

You’ve got weather differences where temperature alone doesn’t tell the whole story. In Colorado you can barely squeeze moisture out of a raindrop. In Florida there is so much moisture in the air a set of gills would be handy. In Colorado an hour in the sun, perhaps less is all you need to dry a load of laundry. Do that here and it will be soggier the next day than it was when you started! I am convinced that the greatest invention of mankind is air conditioning! Don’t believe me? Come visit in August or even September. Dare you! I’m not saying anything about hurricanes. We have two more months of hurricane season, and until then I’m not tempting fate.

The terrain of Colorado and Florida couldn’t be more divergent. Majestic mountains with 14,000 ft. peaks brushing the sky versus flat, flat, flat. That’s not totally fair, because there is the hill country of north central Florida and the rolling terrain of the panhandle, but down here in the southern peninsula, it’s flat! The upside, there is no “up side”. You can walk and bike in both directions and it’s flat both ways. No need for 21 gears on your bike here. One will do.

While Colorado is awash in fall colors we are still green and will mostly stay that way. But while colorful Colorado will soon fall bare we are only just beginning to come alive in flowers. Different varieties blooming one after another, setting the landscape ablaze with fall and winter colors of a different kind.

I miss the snow during the holidays, and those days when you can curl up in front of a fire with a good book while it snows softly outside. I don’t miss scraping my windshield, pushing a grocery cart through it, or sliding through an intersection on ice. I love the water and Florida has no shortage of it. The Gulf is gorgeous. For much of the year it offers a refreshing place to swim, while enjoying the sand and sun. When I’m not there, I’m in the pool. So, let’s see, shoveling snow or building sand castles? You choose. I already have.

I miss my friends, but what Florida has that Colorado doesn’t have is our kids and our grandson. There is no measuring stick for that. It has been good to be near them again. To be able to be a part of their lives, not just visitors in them. Life changes quickly and we won’t always live close, but for now we are happily drinking in that blessing.

So, where did the time go? Where it always goes. Somewhere behind us. There are lots of theories about why it seems time passes more quickly the older we get. The important reality, it does, so pay attention. It’s already been a year!

A few nights ago, after quietly reading in bed, I reached to turn off the light and proceeded to adjust my pillow and myself to a comfortable position for a good night’s sleep. The ceiling fan was moving the air enough to provide a nice, cool breeze, and caused a few strands of my hair to wisp back & forth over my ear and face. I brushed it back out of my face when either I sensed or felt something weird. I’m not sure which.

Yep, something had just fallen or flew into my ear!!!! Doesn’t matter which. The particulars don’t matter. Get it out!!! Now would be good! In fact two seconds ago would have been even better!!! My husband, Kim, reached for the light to take a closer look. “What is taking so long? Do something!” He responded with, “I don’t see anything.” “You don’t see anything?! How can you not see it! It’s the size of a bumblebee!” It wasn’t like he was being casual about it. His voice had the sound of concern in it, but I wasn’t sensing the urgency that I felt! Okay, he can’t see anything, so maybe I was overreacting. Maybe I only thought something flew into my ear. Maybe it had simply been a wisp of hair that I had felt.

Kim shut the light off preparing to go back to sleep. Uneasy, I decided to do the same. Nope! Nope! Nope! Something is definitely crawling around in there! I can feel it! It’s the size of a tarantula! “Do not dare tell me you can’t see it!! It’s enormous! Could even be a lizard or gecko, but I know you can see it!!! Now get it out!” He reached for the light again and asked, “What do you want me to do?” Seriously? Am I not making myself clear! “Remove the giant mutant creature from my ear! Are you good with those directions?!” I realize that’s a little snarky, but from my position of having some half insect, half spider making himself at home in my ear I think I’ve earned a little snarky!

He suggested pouring rubbing alcohol in my ear, but somewhere I read that if you do that it will just result in drowning the critter, only to have it taking a permanent nap in your ear. No! let’s not do that! I turned my head over in hopes that gravity would lend a hand…and it did. I could feel it as it lost its grip, and slipped out of my violated ear canal. Lifting my head I looked at my pillow, searching for this colossal creature. There it was…a tiny little no-see-um gnat. I smushed him under my thumb! Don’t judge me! You weren’t there.

We just passed through Labor Day weekend. The weekend that traditionally marks the end of summer, even though it really doesn’t. The last day of summer is September 21st, so technically it’s still summer, but we are already thinking it’s fall. Once upon a time Labor Day marked the end of summer vacation, but that date keeps getting pushed farther and farther into August, if summer vacation exists at all. Instead, we are left with simply a tradition of hamburgers, hotdogs, and potato salad, a gathering of good friends and family, and a three-day weekend from work and school. All good, but not the same!

I don’t much care for Labor Day weekend. It’s that whole end of summer thing. I love summer. As a kid no explanation is needed. As a mom I enjoyed having my kids home from school and no daily schedule to adhere to.  I like warm weather, flip-flops, shorts, and sunshine. Labor Day seemed to be followed quickly with cooler days and colder nights. A need to find socks and real shoes. Time to pack away the shorts and t-shirts until next May and break out that sweater in the bottom of the drawer.

The leaves are beginning to change, the air is cool and crisp. I glance every day at the mountain peaks and wonder when I will see the first dusting of snow. A hint of what is to come. Winter! Well, not this year my friend! Not this year!

This year I spent my first Labor Day in Florida. It was weird. There is no hint of yellow on the trees. The days are not cooler and nights are far from being cold. We’re going to have to wait another 5 to 6 months for that to happen. Even then, cold is a relative term. I don’t have to trade my flip-flops for real shoes. I keep my shorts handy, and the sweater can stay in the bottom of the drawer. But, it’s still weird.

I use to get a droopy feeling when summer passed to fall. I’m not feeling that, which by itself is peculiar. Have you ever looked up the definition of autumn? Don’t! It’s depressing! No wonder I would feel droopy! Fall is hunting season. I have friends and family who look forward to this season every year. I can appreciate that. Then there are the trees! They are quite delightful all dressed up in splendid colors. Even when those gold, red, yellow, and orange leaves begin to fall to the ground there is something youthful about kicking your way through them. The crunch and rustle are such a classic sound. Some people love this season. I’m just not one of them. I think it’s beautiful, but I also find it a little sad.

From here I see no visible signs that we are beginning the move from one season to another, but something is there. I am feeling a ghostlike thread of something. Perhaps some of it is guilt that my mountain friends will soon be stacking wood, donning coats and mittens, and shoveling snow. Some of it is this weird sense that for me time is standing still in endless summer, even though I know that isn’t true. There is an essence of something. Something is changing and though fall can’t be seen or felt in this southern part of the sunshine state it is still coming.

About once a month or so my husband, Kim, and I travel east across a stretch of I-75 known as Alligator Alley. What a great name for a road! I did a little checking on how it got that name and I was disappointed there wasn’t a fabulously exciting story of how the road construction crew had to take turns guarding each other’s backs from a sneak attack by the many alligators that live in this deep, thick, jungle of sawgrass, cypress, and swamps. Instead, AAA labeled it that. They hated the road. They didn’t want it built. Even after reading why, I’m still not sure why. They wanted their customers to go around it, taking the Tamiami Trail to Miami instead of Alligator Alley to Ft. Lauderdale. Their reasons were a bit vague, convoluted and undoubtedly dry, but that isn’t important. What’s important is they gave it that name to discourage its use, while the State Road Commission officially adopted it, saying it would be good for tourism.

That was back in the 60’s. Alligator Alley cuts through the heart of the Florida Everglades. The road is amazing straight and flat, bordered both sides by a fence to protect the animals that live there from cars zooming by at 75 mph. Some faster…a lot faster, but the speed limit is 70, so I’m going to say 75. This mostly works, but not always. I’ve seen a few dead critters; armadillo, a wild pig, a couple of turtles, and the latest find, a very large python! I’ve read in the paper about a bear being hit out there and from time to time a Florida panther. There are 36 tunnels under this 75 mile stretch of road, so the animals can move freely from side to side. Though that fence is pretty high and looks fairly sturdy I have seen animals on the road side of it. I have no idea how they got there.

Do not be fooled into thinking that because the road is flat and straight it’s boring. Though it doesn’t offer breathtaking views of massive snow-covered peaks and sprawling green meadows it is like stepping back in time. Way back. From our home the Alley begins with palm trees, slash pines and dense vegetation too numerous to count or identify. It’s not long before you encounter the Florida Panther Preserve. These cats look just like their western mountain lion cousins, only a little smaller. They are distinct, however, by their crooked tail. Though they are endangered I do wonder if there aren’t more of them than they think, because a fair number have already been killed this year on the roads near and around Naples. Something isn’t adding up and my own belief, backed by no science or fact, is that life finds a way and the swamp harbors life invisible to the eyes of man. Try as I might, I have yet to see one of these rare creatures lazily napping in the branches of any nearby tree, but I keep looking. Odd looking conifers begin to appear known as bald cypress. These trees lose their needles in the fall, which is unusual for a pine, but hence the name, “Bald”. When bald they appear to be dead.  Fully leafed out they provide a beautiful canopy to the Everglades where you can easily spot large birds roosting amid their branches. It’s also along this strand of highway that you encounter Big Cypress National Preserve, which I have yet to explore, but it’s on the list. In what appears to be a seamless transition, the trees begin to fall away and the vistas widen as you travel further east and you now begin to encounter the famous sawgrasses of the Everglades. You might wonder if this is what the savannahs of Africa might also look like.

The birds are amazing! Winter and spring the trees are heavy, bearing their ornaments of ibis, great egrets, great blue herons, great herons, osprey, bald eagles, cormorants, spoonbills, and anhingas. Those are just a few! They’re big and beautiful and my head swivels constantly at the sight of another and another. So different! So fascinating!

Alligator Alley is home to black bears, white tail deer, wild pigs, turkeys, mink, river otters, gray foxes, opossum, and panthers. In fact, there are 40 different mammals who make their home in the Everglades. Shall we talk about the snakes? Let’s not! The point is, this place is wild.

Water is ever-present. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but it’s there and because of that you strain your eyes, if you’re not driving, searching the canals that border the road looking for those creatures of the past and present for which this road was named. Alligators! I find it difficult to see alligators in the water while flying past at 75 mph, which is where they spend most of their time in the summer. But in the winter, alligators like to bask in the warm sunshine along the banks of those canals and it doesn’t take much effort to see a dozen or so of these famous tough guys synonymous with the state of Florida.

For all the water out there it can burn and lightning seems to use it for target practice almost every day during the summer rainy season. I feel for the wildland firefighters who have to penetrate the jungle swamp with all of its inhabitants in the unrelenting steaming heat that can only be summer in south Florida.

The Everglades is not an impenetrable wilderness swamp, but almost and teeming with life from the beautiful to the scary. When they built Alligator Alley the engineers were faced with using airboats on the eastern side and swamp buggies on the western to line out the route. A note written by a construction worker on the wall of an outbuilding in the Alley wrote, “Please Lord, I’ve been a good man. So if I get cotton-mouth bit, or attacked by some of Oscar the Alligator’s brothers, and if I get to that Big Job in the Sky, oh, please, Lord, let it be on dry land. Amen!” ( Alligator Alley: Florida’s Most Controversial Highway, by August Burghard, 1969).

Bottom line, I like it. I never get tired of it, even though it’s straight and flat and a shot of espresso halfway across might be nice. There’s always something to see out there, or something to be looking for. An amazing place like none other.

(Photo credit given to Ben Pardini)

My husband and I got caught in the rain today. It’s been a long time since that’s happened. By the time we briskly walked the short distance from the pool to our apartment we were drenched beyond the drenching of the pool where we had been swimming only moments earlier. Now laughing, we wondered if it could possibly rain any harder before we climbed the stairs to the front door? Why, yes it can! It reminded me of a distant time when I got caught in the rain with my kids.

It was 2007. A two car caravan. I, with my son, leading the way. My daughter following behind. Her car bulging with her college possessions. We were traveling south on I-95, from Melbourne to Boca Raton, when suddenly warning lights flashed all sorts of red across the dash of Ben’s car! I quickly changed three lanes of traffic, an impressive feat I assure you, and coasted into the corner gas station.

We would have to wait for a mechanic to figure out the problem before we could be on our way. I don’t wait well! I had a better plan. Let’s all squeeze into Mariah’s Suzuki and go to Target. Might as well take care of a few things while we are waylaid. “I’ll drive”. That left one seat to be filled by two occupants. Although clearly illegal, and obviously uncomfortable, I was confident they’d be able to figure out how to puzzle arms and legs together to make it work. Surely at least one of them was wearing a seatbelt! We didn’t have far to go. Upon our arrival I unashamed left them in the parking lot to figure out how to untangle themselves. They were, after all, attracting attention and embarrassing me!

As we prepared to leave the store it was raining! Raining really isn’t a big enough word for the avalanche of water spilling from the sky. Mariah ran to get her car as Ben and I huddled on the only postage stamp spot available in an effort to stay reasonably dry. She pulled up and we crammed even more stuff into her already jam-packed car. I switched places with her, securing myself behind the wheel. You don’t think that just because she shagged the car in the rain she was going to boost that enviable position? Well do you? Not happening! These two grown kids were far more capable of playing Front Seat Twister than I was! Regrettably, they were now playing it with an audience of all the other patrons who were standing under the eaves considering a dash to their cars. “We’ve got this! Nothing to see here!” We laughed! We laughed at our situation. We laughed at being soaked to the skin. We laughed at one more thing being added to our out-of-control day. We laughed at the sight that we made. We laughed that other people were laughing, even if it was at us, not with us. We laughed so hard it hurt and I needed my inhaler!

Later than evening, having unloaded Mariah’s possessions into her dorm room and finally being able to take a moment, we enjoyed dinner together at the Cheesecake Factory. Looking around I spied a woman sitting in an adjoining room who I thought looked a lot like me, but was obviously having a bad hair day. She looked as though she had spent as much time in the rain as I had. I pointed her out to the kids. They looked at each other and then said, “Mom, that’s a mirror”!

I was sitting here at my desk the other day when my cat quietly appeared next to me and began meowing for my attention. I reached down and gently scratched between her ears, wondering when the look of sheer bliss in her half closed eyes would suddenly change and she would swing her head with cat-like reflexes and bite my hand!? I’m not saying she would do it. I’m just saying she could do it. And in the past she has done it! I don’t know why! Just some wild hair she gets. She’s a cat!

Cats are funny creatures. Once upon a time we owned two dogs and two cats. Copper, Chinook, Sophie, and Patches respectively. Our huskies were gentle giants and allowed our cats to co-mingle with them like any other pack member. As a kitten, our youngest cat, Patches would climb onto the back and head of our biggest dog, but as she grew she developed an attitude and was determined to be top dog. Ahem, I mean cat.

Patches would lie in wait on the back of the sofa for an opportunity to take a swipe at anyone who dared walk within striking distance of her paw, with the exception of our daughter. She perceived Mariah as her mother, since it was she who allowed Patches to sleep on her bed as a kitten when all other pets were banned from that particular piece of furniture. I would give Patches a wide berth if she was perched on the back of the sofa, pretending she was preoccupied with thoughts of tuna. In reality she was sizing up the prey and I was determined not to be caught in her web of deception. My husband was either too engrossed in his thoughts or oblivious to her intent, because he was always passing too closely resulting in a claw to the forearm and a trip to the bathroom for antiseptic.

Patches loved to chase Sophie. Sophie was older than Patches, but Patches outweighed her by 5 pounds. Sophie didn’t find Patches’ game of cat and mouse amusing and would take refuge underneath Copper’s legs. Copper was a beautiful husky. A throwback to his ancestors, with long legs and long snout. He had an intimidating look about him. The older Patches got the more she was instinctually afraid of him, though he never snapped, growled, or even barked. Somehow Sophie knew this and learned to take refuge in his presence. Copper was her home base and there was little Patches could do about it.

When Mariah left for college we worried about Patches. How would she adjust to not having Mariah around. She had no choice but to adapt. She needed to adopt a new protector. Who did she choose? My husband. Her usual target for “batting” practice! I couldn’t believe it! The man who I swore she hated had now become her “go to” favorite. If Kim sat down Patches took it as an invitation to climb on him. Sitting on his lap wasn’t enough. She needed to slowly climb up his chest until she had her head resting on his shoulder. What had happened here?

What had happened is what always happens. Things change. Copper, Chinook, and Sophie have all passed away leaving only paw prints in our hearts. Patches is older now, but like all of us still needs to feel safe, to be comforted, to be loved. She is all those things. She’s a little more mellow than she use to be and sleeps a little more often. But, every once in a while she will take a quick swipe, or let out a warning hiss just to let us know….she is still a cat!

Oh my gosh! The things we could get done if we would just stay focused! Am I right? Of course I’m right. I use to tell my kids that all the time when they were in school. “Stay on task and you’ll get it finished in no time!” I noticed a similar problem around the property we live on. The maintenance crew is great, but they are easily distracted, leaving a few too many projects in progress and even fewer completed. So, what do I do, besides criticize? Flit about from one project or chore to the next. The next thing you know the day is done, but nothing else is!

Why do we do that? We all do it! Okay…maybe not all, but most of us. It’s not like we don’t enjoy what we do. We gain a lot of satisfaction from our work. Sometimes we just don’t feel like working. Sometimes we’re overwhelmed. So, instead I start my day with a swim, which of course has to be followed by a shower, naturally it is now time for lunch, which is followed by a break to check my emails. Now I’m tired, so perhaps a nap and then a snack….whoa! Where did the day go? It’s time to fix supper! I can always work on writing tomorrow! And so it goes.

I don’t care what your job is. How much you like or dislike it. Whether you’re task oriented or a world class procrastinator we are all subject to distractions. You check your emails and then your Facebook page. “Like this, like this, like that!” Get a cup of coffee, bathroom break, check out what the co-workers did over the weekend, find out what they are doing this weekend, get up to speed on your “Trivia Crack” games, send a couple of texts. The clock is ticking my friend! We have work to do! Let’s try to have something to show for it!

I know some of you have jobs that do require you finish what you start. My son is a flight instructor. There’s no getting distracted there! It won’t end well. My son-in-law works with asphalt. I think he may have been a little too focused once and didn’t notice he was on fire! (Another story). Most of us, though, have to work at it. I give myself little rewards for following through with a project start to finish. I have to. Life is just to interesting to not become distracted.

The 4th of July is upon us and I’ve been noticing that Americans are a funny lot. We’re much like a family. We fight and criticize one another. Roll our eyes, even pout, but if somebody outside the family criticizes us, or attacks us in any way we circle the wagons! It is family first!

This weekend we will gather with family and friends in parks, backyards, beaches, campgrounds, national parks, lakes and  main streets across the country to celebrate who we are….Americans! We will have picnics and barbecues, wave flags, cheer at parades, eat homemade ice cream, hot dogs and watermelon,  and when the sun sets on a practically perfect day we will find a chair, a patch of grass, a piece of beach to gaze upon fireworks in all their glory. When it’s over we will carry sleepy children, gather up blankets and spent sparklers with quiet smiles and warm hearts to match the summer heat, making our way back home.

Lately, though, some of us have ventured a bit far off the family farm. We explain to outsiders, “Oh, that’s just Uncle Fred. He’s a bit crazy. Just pass him the potato salad”.  Our tempers flare with each other and like all families we fight, slam doors, leave the room, don’t talk to each other. I shake my head at my fellow Americans who see our country differently than I. They shake their head at me.

Together though, together we make a difference. Together we are different. We’re the first to offer aid in a global disaster. We feed the world and even have satellites in place to see where we should focus our efforts for upcoming drought and famine. We are the world’s peace keepers and the world’s warriors. We tenaciously defend our liberties, but what is unique about us….we defend the liberties of others around the world.

The principles set out in the Constitution allow us to govern ourselves morally, which then allows us to govern ourselves politically. Those people around the world who endeavor to be free look to the United States as a mighty beacon of hope. For that reason I am proud to be an American. I am grateful to be an American because I am free.

Enjoy this weekend! Unite in red, white, and blue, celebrating Old Glory and all that she stands for. Monday will come soon enough. Then we can scream, shout, slam doors, and make excuses for Uncle Fred. But, on the 4th of July, we’re family! We’re Americans! God bless the USA!

We are creatures of habit. We like consistency and familiarity. It makes us comfortable. We may step out of the box, at least with one foot, to do something new once in a while, or explore new places, but make a game changing shake up? Are you kidding? Why do you think McDonald’s is so successful? It was marketed on the premise that it’s familiar no matter where you are in the world. It’s comfortable.

Change is harder for some than others. My daughter handles big changes in her life with amazing grace and enthusiasm, but when her husband organized her earrings to make her life easier you would have thought he changed her cell phone number! Then she says to me, “I really don’t mind change.” Really? How about I rearrange your furniture? My son is “Mr. Sentimental”, so any change in his life is met with a flow chart of possibilities and probabilities. My husband and I have been toting around boxes of his stuff and storing them for years because he doesn’t have room for them at his place, but he can’t bear to part with them either. Don’t judge us! He’s our son, but I swear the free storage is coming to an end….soon! Very soon!

I walk counterclockwise around the pond every morning. Occasionally I will give in to my husband’s suggestion that we walk clockwise for a change. My whining about it is met with his sarcastic remarks about understanding how it’s so much harder to walk clockwise. After all, “it is uphill that direction.”  Seriously! It’s Florida! It’s not uphill in any direction and he’s lucky I’m wearing sunglasses so he can’t see the narrowing of my eyes as I glare at him, but I’m sure he senses it! The truth is, it just doesn’t feel right. It’s like sleeping on the wrong side of the bed. You know what I’m talking about.

The landscapers are at work around our place. Vegetation grows in Florida like the real life version of Jumanji, so if you don’t take serious action you’ll need a machete in no time just to find your car. But, give a man a chainsaw and he suddenly becomes Paul Bunyan’s smaller sidekick! Branches are dropping, palms have new haircuts, what was once dense is now not! I don’t like it! Why? It’s different!

We get use to things the way they are, but the changes that are being made to the landscape around here actually look nice. Thinning the vegetation allows more sunlight to feed and nourish those plants left behind. It’s healthy for them, making a case that change is actually good for all of us. It allows us to grow. Change doesn’t mean leaving everything behind. It’s just moving on. Change is hard, but it means we’re alive, and that’s all good.

Summer is here. Our first summer in south Florida. I know what you’re thinking! “Aargh! The humidity!” And you’d be right! It’s not like we were unaware. We’ve been here before in the heart of summer, but we’ve never been here for the duration where it begins to sit heavy on your chest, back, and legs like an elephant who has decided it’s time for you to give him a ride! Movies like Mosquito Coast, Apocalypse Now, and African Queen come to mind. Do you have a visual yet? Even the plants seem to groan under the weight of the Florida summer sauna.

I’ve noticed it take longer to get from my car into the store. I feel like I’m walking in slow motion, slogging through thick quicksand and the store is a mirage that keeps getting farther away the closer you get. You step outside for a few minutes and the ability to take a deep breath has evaporated! That’s the only thing that has evaporated!!! This isn’t Phoenix you know, where everything evaporates and you can’t even tell you’re sweating! Here you know you are sweating, I think! I haven’t decided if I’m sweating or it’s just that the water in the air has found a place to puddle…under your eyes, on your shirt, behind your knees. You get the picture. Don’t even bother hanging a beach towel over a chair outside to dry. It could take days for that to happen, perhaps even an entire season! You step back inside and suddenly you’re freezing! It’s not that the A/C is turned too cool. It’s that you’re wet!

I was here once in August helping my daughter move. By the end of the day I thought I was shrinking. Simply melting into a puddle on the ground. I had to be, because my t-shirt was now down to my knees. I could have been wearing it as a dress! Who moves furniture in a dress? What was happening!? It was that trip where I made a side excursion to Phoenix on my way back to Colorado. I was actually excited about the experiment I was about to set out on. An opportunity to see what was more uncomfortable, 92 degrees with 87% humidity, or 112 degrees with 9% humidity? I couldn’t tell. It was just different and equally miserable!

My husband often walks outside and exclaims, “It’s not too bad!” I haven’t decided if he’s making an observation or trying to convince himself it could be worse. It definitely could be worse and it just might get worse! I don’t want to jinx anything just in case Mother Nature overhears and decides to let me see just how bad she can be!

Thank goodness for air conditioning and swimming pools! I grew up in the Valley of the Sun without climate control in our house or in our car. I was in the 5th grade when we bought a house with central air conditioning for the first time! The lap of luxury that we now come to expect and take for granted. That’s right! I was tough! Now I’m spoiled! I have a car with air conditioning, a home with air conditioning, stores with air conditioning. I can hopscotch from one to the other and if that is not enough I’m off to the pool or the beach. I’m good with being spoiled!

Which is better or more miserable, depending on how you look at it? A dry heat or a humid heat? I feel for my family in Phoenix. It’s been 113 degrees, plus or minus all week long! That kind of heat is intense! It’s hot, sizzling, scorching, blazing! This time of year Florida is hot, sultry, sweltering, steamy! Feel the difference?