Many people in Texas have the day off today. It's the annual celebration of one of our most important holidays....
August 2nd is traditionally the day Texans across the state say a silent (or loud) prayer of Thanks! to Air Conditioning. Everyone celebrates the miracle of air conditioning in their own way. Some follow the lead of former president, Richard Nixon who reportedly had the White House staff turn the air conditioning in the "People's House" as low as it would go so he could light a big fire in one of the fireplaces and sit in front of it. Even in the dead of Summer. Others decorate their outside condensers with home made ornaments and tinsel while most just make offerings of tacos or BBQ to their AC units.
Here at my place we throw a big dinner with family and friends. Just before we serve the joyous meal we all sit around the table, hold the hands of the people on either side of us, and make our heartfelt pleas to the air conditioning gods that our air conditioning never go out in the middle of a Summer heatwave.
When I got ready for bed last night I got down on my knees and begged the air conditioning gods to give me a sign in late October or early November of whatever year that it is time to replace. But please, please! Not in August.
From Wm. Blake: Freon, Freon Cooling Bright in the stillness of the Night...."
No work today. Just quiet meditation and sincere thanks to the brilliant people who invented air conditioning in the first place.
Wouldn't it make more sense to give offerings to the Power Grid Gods? My guess is that the grid is more likely to go down than your A/C. But as I recall, you have battery backup right?!
ReplyDeletekarmagroovy. We even have a back up air conditioner.... but we'd have to camp out in the office to take advantage of it...
ReplyDeleteAfter a storm last summer knocked out our electricity for 4 days when the temperature and humidity combined to 100+ levels, we bought an automatic whole house generator. We also have occasional ice storms (don't forget those little winter frozen treats) and the generator will run the central heating unit as well. As long as there's natural gas in the pipelines we should be good year round. Expensive bugger though. Don't care. Both my wife and my dog were about to get sick in last summer's outage from the heat.
ReplyDeleteIt has been written a number of times that, without air conditioning, there would have been no late 20th Century economic boom across the U.S. South. And, with climate change becoming more apparent with each passing year, the rest of the country - and world - will likely find it very difficult to get on without it. So let’s hoist a frosty cold one for Willis Carrier.
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