Barbara J. Hamby

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Climate Control

I know my memory ain’t what it used to be, but I’m almost certain I’ve never had to turn on heat in July before today. Last night I turned the electric blanket on (on a low number), but it felt really good in a cool bedroom. This morning I turned the heat on the lowest setting, but it’s taking the chill off. We’ve had some heavy rain showers and there’s a definite shortage of blue sky this morning. That’s okay, maybe it’ll cut down on the early pyrotechnics that are so noisily annoying. So far I’ve only heard one blast, when I was in the pool the other day.

However, I much prefer our normal moderate summer days when neither heat nor air conditioning is required. They really help with the electric bill. Layered clothing can help avoid using artificial indoor climate control, also.

Much more difficult to control is the climate of fear in this country that’s leading people to keep a tight hold on purse strings—that is, those who still have something in their purses. So many people are unemployed or under-employed and so many elderly are barely existing on inadequate incomes.

I read comparisons of this “recession” to the depression that took place in my early years and notice some differences that aren’t always mentioned. For one thing, manufacturing was not being outsourced to countries all over the world in those days, flooding our markets with inferior products. Also, we are all much less trusting of strangers, for good reasons. Today many of the beggars are on mind-altering drugs and can be very dangerous. The “bums” who came to our back door for a meal in the early thirties never seemed really scary.

I hope our enthusiastic young president can help us hang onto hope and pull us through these hard times. We need to support him and his administration and stop the verbal sniping that divides us.