kestrel

kestrel
2020-01-12 21:15:44 (UTC)

Prompt 056: Afternoon Heat

[NOTE: to those of you expecting to see erotica - based solely on the entry title - I reckon you'll need to look elsewhere. :) ]

56. During the warmer months, the afternoon can be the hottest time of the day. Would you rather be outside or inside during those hot and sunny hours and why? What if you had to do work while you were outside?
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I'm not a fan of hot weather. I have a fan blowing on me nearly every day of the year (even now, in mid-January). Warm is okay, but hot is not fun. I must mention, however, that I live on the east coast of the United States, near bodies of water, so the humidity is what I strongly dislike. Walking outdoors in my town in July or early August is like standing under a heat lamp while a hot, wet blanket is draped over your shoulders. Uncomfortable and intolerable are the two words I describe in terms of my summer experience here, and I routinely spend my time scrambling from one air-conditioned building to the next. So, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity."

In fact, I remember being in Las Vegas in the summertime one year (a band I was in was invited to play for a television pilot, and it was an all-expense-paid trip), and that wasn't bad at all. Of course, Las Vegas is a town that shouldn't even exist, to the point of the hotel we stayed in being next to a man-made lake in the middle of the tan desert of the USA's southwest. Nothing of anthropological consequence would have survived out there without 24/7 irrigation. But being in the excessively dry heat wasn't as bad as muggy, humid weather. I even did some walking while out there, as it was my first time in the southwest, and enjoyed it. Didn't see any scorpions or snakes, but it was all right. There was some day drinking involved while I played nickel video blackjack at one of the many bars on site at the resort. As everything was paid for, and I ended up being on national television jumping around on stage like an idiot, I still to this day consider it the most fantastic vacation I'd ever experienced.

The most work I ever did outdoors... Well, two experiences come to mind. First was back in high school. During the summer, starting 15th August, we'd have "double sessions" to begin practice for high school football (not the soccer kind). There would be a first session that started at like 7am each day, and go until lunch time. We'd have an hour off, then we'd have an afternoon session that ended at maybe 2pm. But we sweat like dogs all day long, practicing in the heat and humidity, only stopping if there was a freak thunderstorm in the middle of the day. Rain wasn't a reason to call off double sessions. At least I wasn't suffering alone. I did decent in football for the three years I played, starting as an offensive lineman for two of those years.

The second summertime work experience that comes to mind is when I spent a couple weeks one July on the Vermont land of two friends of mine. Theirs was an interesting situation: the woman of the couple had Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (think of the worst case of allergies you've ever had, with allergy attacks brought up by any man-made chemicals and petroleum products, in addition to all the typical allergens such as molds, fungi, pollen, and grasses), and they had retreated to the wilderness - away from most human impact - in an effort to help her detoxify and hopefully be cured of MCS. Well, I slept in a tent at odd hours of the day, and had to be covered head-to-toe in an effort to avoid being bitten by the blackflies and other stinging insects that infested the area that time of year. This included a mesh headcover, like a beekeeper's hat, which stifled breathing and prevented any breezes from providing relief. Oh, and Vermont happens to be rather humid, too. So I was hot, sweaty, peppered with bug bites, and shitting in the woods.

So, I prefer being indoors during the summer, thanks. If I ever visit the southwest again (and I may, as a good friend of mine owns a house in New Mexico), then it would be strictly for pleasure, and likely in the autumn or winter.




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