Glasgow Daily Times, Glasgow, KY

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July 29, 2010

Heat, A.C. drive writer to D.C.

By JIMMY LOWE For the Daily Times

GLASGOW — A lazy black snake was stretched out in the shade while I was recently mowing in my back yard. It was early morning, and I was trying to mow quietly so as not to risk waking any neighbors who might still be asleep. I don’t know about the neighbors, but at least the snake didn’t seem disturbed by my activity.

The outside temperature was already in the 80s and climbing to the 90s. I wanted to finish this task before the heat got into triple digit numbers.

The snake was partially hidden in a row of flowers. Still, I could see enough of him to figure he must be about four feet long. I considered chasing him away, but with the oppressive heat, I decided neither of us should expend any extra energy.

As I continued my sluggish and sweaty walk behind the mower’s path, I noticed a squirrel climbing up an oak tree. I hoped he would settle into a hammock of tangled branches and nibble on nuts that he had hoarded earlier. I hoped he would find cool comfort up there in that source of shade.

Later when I returned inside the house, it still seemed to be almost as hot as it had been outside. I checked the air conditioner. The fan was blowing, but it was no longer offering any cool air.

It was enough to make us want to leave home. So we did.

We went to Washington, D. C.

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, we viewed the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg collection of Norman Rockwell paintings. We were cool and comfortable as we sauntered through the rooms and studied the offerings on the walls. It was cool inside all the museums. Also, it was most pleasant inside the nation’s Capitol where we were given a most hospitable tour by Congressman Brett Guthrie and members of his staff. All the air conditioners were in fine working order in all the inside locations we visited.

The problem, though, was the heat outside.

Unless you are the President or some other such VIP, and have access to underground tunnels, traveling about in Washington, D. C., necessitates being outside to maneuver from one location to another. During our excursions between impressive landmarks, we had to deal with outside temperatures that were even hotter than those we had forsaken back home.

So, we’ve returned. Our air conditioner has been fixed, and we’re relaxing inside as much as is practical.

One of the grandkids came by. She asked me to go outside with her and push her in the swing. I told her about the snake near the flowers.

I think we’ll all be content to just stay inside until this heat wave has passed.

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