I didn’t get out a lot over the past two years, but I’m surely not the only one.
I was afraid of getting sick and avoided group outings with friends with a strong fear of viral transmission, but those fears have subsided to some degree. But the last two months were marked by some of the hottest weather I have ever seen in this region. There were several deaths in this city alone from people getting heat stroke in their homes because they’re not using indoor climate control of any kind, which is strangely common around here even in the 21st century. To their credit, a lot of the people who fit in this category are older folks who survived in this region decades ago before climate change kicked in and started altering the temperatures through the year. If they could handle it when they were kids, I can understand why they would persist with this mindset despite the trends going on in the past few years. Since it was so hot this year, I was eager for the slightly cooler weather in late August when the late summer rain showers are in their last cycles. It’s a lot nicer to spend a day at the beach or in the woods when the sun isn’t nearly as intense and the temperatures outside are a little lower than the summer averages. I don’t want to get a heat stroke and end up in the hospital because I put myself in a bad situation with just a little bit of water on my body. Sometimes I just stay at home and turn on the air conditioner instead.