Those lazy days of summer in Daydreaming on the Porch
- July 7, 2021, 9:38 p.m.
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- Public
I can hardly believe it. We’re having a relatively mild and wet summer. Yesterday was July 7 and it was only 86 degrees with a heat index of 98, whereas normally in our coastal South Carolina climate this time of year it would be 93-95 degrees with a heat index of 105-108. So when I ventured a three-block walk downtown to our glorious little independent bookstore, I wasn’t absolutely miserable, just relatively miserable. When I got inside the air-conditioned cool of the bookstore, however, my glasses fogged up immediately and I started dripping perspiration under my mask. No one else was wearing one, course. This is South Carolina, after all. I felt better when I found a book to buy.
This is what the climate scientists predicted with global warming: record-breaking heat and drought in the West and a bit less hot and wetter in the South.
It probably won’t last long. We’ve got the rest of July and August to endure, plus hurricane season. As I write this the first bands of thunderstorms from Tropical Storm Elsa are marching in, and I hear rain on my metal roof. Thunder, too. Humidity should be at about 100 percent today.
Future summers for the Southeast look grim. Sea levels rise is already having a noticeable effect here. And nobody in their right mind will be outdoors having a festive and patriotic July 4 picnic. Can you possibly imagine leaving potato salad and fried chicken out in that heat?
Farewell to nostalgic summers past in this song that now sounds like it came from some other world entirely. Actually, it did. I don’t even recognize it.
Last updated July 07, 2021
mcbee ⋅ July 08, 2021
i am always the lone masker when I go anywhere. At this point if they didn't get vaccinated and won't wear masks, they deserve to get sick. I don't believe a mask is much protection if I am the only one wearing it, but it's all I can do for now.
Oswego mcbee ⋅ July 09, 2021
I would look into KN95 masks. They are readily available and more protective of the mask user than the regular, disposable masks. They are all I use now, even if they are not as comfortable to wear.
mcbee Oswego ⋅ July 10, 2021
I will get some. Good idea.
Deleted user ⋅ July 08, 2021
The D.C. area is pretty much mask-free at this point. But then again, we have pretty high vax rates. It did feel weird going into a store without one, though--but I got over it quickly. Not a fan of summer, at least not where I am. At all.
Oswego Deleted user ⋅ July 09, 2021
I find that if I start going into a store without a mask, I catch myself and go back to the car to get it. This being SC and the Delta variant raging, there’s no way I will be inside in a public place without a KN95 mask. Now and for the indefinite future!
Marg ⋅ July 09, 2021
We’re still masking up over here indoors - most shops won’t let you inside without one. I think I would balk at no mask wearing now!
Newzlady ⋅ July 14, 2021
I’m debating resuming mask wearing. I know I SHOULD.
Oswego Newzlady ⋅ July 14, 2021
Definitely. There are too many crazy, selfish, unvaccinated types running around endangering everyone, including the vaccinated.