walkingman

I am not a fan of air-conditioning. I prefer a good fan and a gentle breeze to artificial refrigerant and closed windows. My wife loves her air conditioning and turning the house into a deep freeze. During the last two weeks she has rarely left the house during the daytime and then only to step into the air conditioned comfort of the family car as we have been hit by a deadly heat wave. She thinks I am crazy as I head off to work in my long sleeved shirt with my suit coat draped over my shoulder as I run to catch the train. However my sleeves are rolled up, my collar button is opened, and my tie is half slid down so I am not exactly dressed for court. This is the uniform of my profession and strange as it seems the heat really does not bother me while I am dressed this way. When I get home I like to strip it all off and run around in a pair of shorts, an old faded tee shirt, and a pair of sandals or walking shoes, my bohemian look. One of the greatest things about working in the big city is hitting the farmers markets when they start. I love visiting them on the way to the office and buying fresh fruit like cherries, blueberries, or strawberries. I can walk to the office or court and eat them like candy. They are very refreshing and a great alternative to a bottle of water. Only problem is that sometimes ones hands can get stained by the fruit and the juice can get transferred to papers one is carrying. I learned that the hard way. I am a minimalist and like to carry the smallest load possible. It drives my secretary crazy sometimes as I come back with strange stains on filings or twisted and mutilated filings but I do not like to carry a brief case or bulky file folder. If it can be shoved into the inside pocket of my suit coat then there it is going to go for safe keeping. My secretary also loves air conditioning. She and the receptionist like to keep the office somewhere between polar and arctic in the summer. It does not snow in my office but I think the fridge is kept unplugged as the ladies just store their frozen foods for lunch in and on their desks. The only place that is warm is the bathroom and I think they have the heat on in there otherwise the toilet would have frozen over. I have given up the battle to control the temperature in my office and at home. Thankfully my office is in an old building with windows that open so I can open a window and let the outside in. I welcome the sounds and smells of the city and the blast of hot air that gets delivered via my window. It warms me and my office. Otherwise I would freeze to death in the artificial air of my modern office. At home I can escape at night to our old fashioned sleeping porch and sleep in comfort under the gentle breeze of the ceiling fan while listening to the sounds of the great outdoors and suburbia. The only thing that disrupts my peaceful slumber is the sound of those awful air conditioners cycling on and off all night long. Drat to all those suburbanites who cannot appreciate the glory of nature!