Every summer when I'm tempted to complain about the heat, I temper my comments by stopping to think how much more I hate winter. I've never agreed with people who say winter is better because you can always add clothing, but there is a limit to how much clothing you can remove. No matter how hot it gets in summer, there will be moderate days when it is quite pleasant. On a moderate day in winter, it is still too cold for a sane person to be outside. But this is getting ridiculous:
An oppressive two-week heat wave in the Southeast and Midwest has killed at least 44 people, many who were elderly and living in homes without air-conditioning.
Authorities in Memphis reported 2 more heat-related deaths Saturday, bringing Tennessee's total to 13.
I don't know if this is just temporary sun stroke or whether I've reached some tipping point, but I'm actually looking forward to a few wind-chill reports.
Comments
Leo:
You're not alone in that regard.
When we were young, how many times were we FORCED to come in from the heat (or the cold)?
As we "mature" (like a good wine), we tend to be a bit more prone to changes in temperatures.
I'm liking fall and spring more and more with every passing year.
;)
B.G.
Statements like this (from the linked article) drive me nuts:
"Last summer, a heat wave killed at least 50 people in the Midwest and East. California officially reported a death toll of 143, but authorities last month acknowledged the number may have been far higher. A 1995 heat wave in Chicago was blamed for 700 deaths."
The heat wave didn't kill anyone. Working in the yard when your 70 years old on a hot frickin' summer day might kill ya, but the heat didn't kill him. Or the others. Our BEHAVIOR leads to our demise, not the weather. Just like everything else, though, we need to BLAME something besides our stupid behavior. Kind of goes along with my theory of "no personal responsibility exists in America anymore".
Leo, isn't there some journalistic rule of thumb you can cite?