Let’s Get Rid Of August….

I tripped over this article on Slate, the other day: “August. Let’s get rid of it” by David Plotz. It’s rather old, but still relevant.

August is a hot month.

I never thought I’d hear myself saying that. I come from a country known for its sizzling summers. Three months of anything between 35 degrees (Celsius) and 45 degrees was the absolute norm. So was water rationing, and make-up than ran off your face as fast as you could apply it.

My birthday was often the hotest day of the year (February 22nd, which is high summer Down Under), and most of February would linger around the 40 degree mark.

Sitting around doing nothing much was black belt defense.

So actually mouthing the words “it’s too hot” here in Canada makes me cringe.

A hot day here is 33 degrees.

Alberta is as dry as Western Australia, so it’s the same sort of dry heat, but not nearly the same degree of heat I grew up with.

Nevertheless, it’s too hot.

In Alberta, the houses are completely hermetically sealed boxes, with insulation, double glazing, and small windows so not a lot of heat is lost in winter.

People build decks, not verandahs. Hiding from the sun beneath a verandah roof or a pergola covered with growing vines (usually grape vines) just never occurs to them.

Nor do they – ever - shut the house up during the heat of the afternoon, and throw it open again in the evening when the cool kicks in. You can’t cool a house down in this province even with every window and door open. There just isn’t enough cross-ventilation or big windows to open.

So it gets hot here in summer, because the housing just ain’t set up to cope with heat.

But.

But…

I get so much reading done in summer. There’s long nights of not being able to sleep. There’s vacations, and days off. There’s all sorts of excuses to take it easy.

So while I think August weather stinks, I’d rather keep the month than lose it, because there’s a lot of books sitting in my to-be-read pile. Piles. Shelves. Well, library, really. <blush>

You?

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First appeared on Stories Rule, August 15, 2008

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Tracy Cooper-Posey © 2009. Cannot be copied or distributed without permission, or without this copyright notice attached.