Keeping Cool

December 1 and the air-conditioner is whirring in my apartment.  Incredible!  Even for Texas.

Before I went to bed last night I opened the door from my bedroom to my third-floor patio.  The room was so warm I could not sleep.  At 2:00 a.m. I climbed out of bed, closed the door, and turned on the air-conditioner.  I heard the noise of its blowing like a hurricane keeping me awake until I moved into my recliner in the living room at 5:00 a.m. 

Actually, it isn’t that hot outside.  The television weatherman said the temperature was 65 at 7:00 o’clock this morning. 

So why is my apartment uncomfortably warm?  I think the heat rises from the apartment below.  The woman who lives there is a tiny, frail little thing.  An old woman with no flesh on her thin bones.  To feel warm she holds the temperature in her apartment at 85 degrees.   

I would rather open my doors and enjoy fresh air.  Instead, I waste electricity to keep cool.  That’s life.  We make adjustments to have a comfortable life.

David missed Thanksgiving with his children to come be with me.  While here he spent one entire day on the computer putting into a special document all the blogs about the trip to Europe when he was 13 years old.  Now I can spend the next six months editing it for publication as a book. 

I could get fresh air by sitting on my patio and enjoying the plants in my flower boxes.  Thinking it would freeze by now, I had my sister-in-law Mary bring me pansies to replace the begonias Martha planted in March.  But the begonias are still blooming like mad, and I do not have the heart to pull them up and plant the pansies. 

A trivial choice for me.  Not like the hard choices awaiting Congress.  Do any of those old men have the courage to make real changes?

I wrote to President Obama and to my Congressman (a Tea Party Republican) advising them on the tax situation.  I’ll post copies of the letters next week. 

Yep!  Ilene is ranting again.  Are you ready for this?