Free-Floating Hostility

Saturday, June 25, 2005


Hostylefaxer: Detroit

To air condition or not to air condition? That is the question.

In 2000, two years after I left for college, my parents finally put in air conditioning. "Great" I said, pondering all those sleepless, showerfilled nights I spent trying to get cool during my formative summers. Detroit isn't totally awful in the summers, but there are one or two weeks where the heat and humidity team up to make the climate a close approximation to life on the Ganges. My parents have wildly different theories on how AC is to be used.

Fritz hates it, which probably explains why I think turning the AC on during our 110 degree days in the Central Valley is a moral failing. Queenie likes it, keeping it on when she leaves the house so it will be nice and cool when she gets home from work.

Anyway, nothing keeps my mother from a good meeting, so this morning Queenie hopped in her car and drove to Lexington, Mich., which is in the thumb, that description being the best part of having a state shaped like a mitten. She'll be gone tonight because the meeting is actually a "retreat," something that sounds to me like they'll be playing Truth or Dare and putting people's underwear in the freezer. My mother dropped me a rental car place this morning, and when I returned home, the familiar feeling of heavy air was back inside the house. Fritz had turned off all the AC, except the one in my room, and turned on the attic fan and the ceiling fan in his room.

Also, Friday night I sampled a local microbrewery. It compared favorably to a Portland, Ore. microbrewery so that was good. I think I'm a guy who likes his beer "Hefewesizen" (sic?). I think that's another funny thing about me.

I am leaving for Costco now. Tonight I attend the wedding of an old friend and tomorrow is Easy Lola's graduation party. Look for updates on that.

1 Comment(s):

  •   Posted by Blogger BrooklynDodger at June 25, 2005 2:07 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment
  • Queenie used the excuse of a party in warm weather to put in the air conditioners, which are vertical casement units. Actually, they don't have the horsepower [actually BTU power or tonnage] to cool the house against a party crowd. Fritz wonders why people want to heat their houses to 72 in winter, but cool them to 68 in summer.

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