Saturday, August 14, 2010

Dry Heat

A phrase heard often in Phoenix is "But it's a dry heat". Dry heat or not, that's little consolation for those of us who inhabit the desert city. Today it's going to be around 112F degrees (~ 45C). Tomorrow it is going to be a degree or two hotter. If you can't imagine what that kind of heat is like, picture this:


You know that blast of hot air when you open the oven door, that's what it feels like when you open the door of your air conditioned home to go outside.

You will walk all the way across a parking lot in order to get the space with the tiniest bit of shade to park under.

You conserve your body temperature by walking very slowly.

You keep oven mitts in the car so you can touch the steering wheel.

Hot water comes out of both taps, no matter how long you let it run.

You have to drink water constantly to maintain hydration. If you see someone in public without water, you know they are either a tourist or an idiot.

Many people leave their garage doors open a foot to let the hot air escape.

The cute puppy in the right margin of this blog refuses to walk on the sidewalk and demands to be carried.

The temperature gauge on the BBQ reads 180 before it's been lit.

Ice cream for breakfast sounds like a good idea.

You can brew sun tea in the shade.

Never mind frying eggs on the sidewalk - you can grill hamburgers and roast marshmallows over the hood of your car.

Your summer electricity bill surpasses your mortgage payment due to A/C use.

You take two (or three) showers a day. And go through 21 pairs of undies a week.

The weatherman talks about a refreshing break coming when it is going to "cool down" to 105.

You jump in the pool to cool off, but it's more like a warm bath.


But it's a dry heat. We live with it. The heat is long forgotten when winter comes and we have the most lovely weather imaginable! In fact, I'm imagining it right now.

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