Clergy Clatter

With advancing age, does not necessarily come advancing wisdom. I can attest to that!

Having had a very mild early summer, and living in a big house that gets great natural ventilation and has limited A/C, I decided to go the summer without A/C. Just throw open all the windows, turn on the ceiling fans and enjoy the natural order of things, like I did when we were kids. I don’t remember suffering as a child and teenager without A/C. We just moved more slowly, wore light clothing, sat around a lot, drank lots of neat cold drinks, and enjoyed a pretty good life. Of course it was hot. It was summer. We read books in the shade of big old trees (no cell phones or internet), rode our bikes in the early evening, and ate wonderful “summer meals” that did not heat up the kitchen.

So my idea was to see what of this “Leave it to Beaver” era I could recapture. I would enjoy sitting out on the deck at night until it cooled off. I would watch the planes come and go, watch the crazy drivers on the interstate, and occasionally think of Ralph Waldo Emmerson.

Well, all went amazingly well – until last Sunday. We had experienced a couple weeks with temperatures in the 90’s, but that was ok. It brought back nice memories. But Sunday after church I decided to take a nap when I got home – just a short “power nap.” As I climbed the steps to my second floor, I was aware that it was warmer with each step. I’m usually not home at mid-day, and didn’t realize how hot it could get up there. This was not Walden Pond. As I laid down on a very hot bed, under my groaning ceiling fan, I looked over at the thermometer on the wall by my bed. 105 degrees.

This would not do. This was dangerous. This was not “Leave it to Beaver.” This was not fond childhood memories. This was a foretaste of eternity if I didn’t “behave myself.”

So I gave up the idea of a nap, moved a bunch of furniture out of the way, dragged a window unit out of my closet, mounted it in a window, and after 4 hours of work in 105-degree temperature, I considered the possibility that senility is setting in. Walden Pond will have to wait for another lifetime.

Richard +

August1, 2022