I was probably 3 or 4 years old the first time I uttered, "Whew it's hot out," or it may have been the first words I ever said. Without modern technology back then to provide conclusive evidence, it's really hard to say. Nonetheless, we, as Southerners, have this long standing love/hate relationship with hot temperatures. Ask us what we think about moving up North, and I guarantee one of the big negatives would be "too cold." However, starting in June and stretching through the first of September, the most polite, civil conversation you can have with anyone is to discuss how hot it is outside.
Don't get me wrong, I think half of the year here is absolutely wonderful, and the few months (or weeks) of winter are chilly but still tolerable. It's just those three hot months we tend to focus on the most. I love counting the number of Facebook friends that post the temperature reading from their car. The goal must be to find the biggest patch of asphalt to drive the reading even higher.
It's not just the temperature either, it's the humidity. Ninety degrees is not that bad if you have been out west in an arid climate. I like to describe the difference as being heat is opening the oven, humid is throwing the oven in the hot tub. It was humidity control that lead Willis Carrier to invent the Building System for a print shop in Buffalo, NY. Though I'm confident enough to say once the workers felt that cool blast of air in mid July, society fundamentally shifted. While the long term environmental implications could fill volumes, the basic fact remains, we are now a society dependent upon the ability to occupy cool spaces year round. So after a long walk through the neighbor with Dakota, I can't help but mutter God Bless you Mr. Carrier as I feel that cool draft enveloping my body.
