“Then came July like three o’clock in the afternoon, hot and listless and miserable.”
It is summer hibernation time. The air conditioner is blasting to keep the torrid heat at bay. Right now it is 87°. Every report gives 90°as the high. I am no longer singing Oh what a Beautiful Morning. I am now singing a bit of an off key rendition of the Heat Is On.
When I was young, the heat never really bothered me. I was out every day sometimes to the playground where I played softball and did crafts while other times I was on my bike. We didn’t even have a fan, but that didn’t matter. After a full day, I fell sleep. The treat of the day was a popsicle bought from Johnny the ice cream man. My favorite was root beer followed by wild cherry.
Our living room was always dark. My mother pulled all the shades down to keep the sun at bay. The kitchen was hot, no shades and an open back door. Suppers were quick meals. The oven was seldom turned on as it heated up the small kitchen. If we opened the fridge to check around, we’d hear my father, “Close the fridge. You’re letting all the cold air out.” I remember the freezer had layers of ice. Our cold drink was Zarex, mostly orange Zarex. My father called it bug juice. I remember it was always in a blue aluminum pitcher which had a set of aluminum glasses (an oxymoron) in different colors. The glass always felt cold in my hand, and it was wet from condensation. After the sun went down, it was a bit cooler, and we stayed outside until my mother called. We had no set bedtime in the summer.
I didn’t know what hot was until the dry season in Bolgatanga. A cool day was in the low 90’s. The only saving grace was the heat was dry. I remember I’d be sitting in a chair in my living room, and when I got up, a sweat outline of my body was on the cushion. I had only a cold shower, but it was a delight in the dry season. I always took my shower just before bed. I’d not dry off, throw on a robe, hurry inside, take off my robe and go to bed. I fell asleep being air dried and feeling cool.
Now I hurry from air conditioner to air conditioner. I gasp when I get into my car, but luckily, it only takes a few minutes to get cold. I let the dogs out, but Henry often turns around and comes back inside. Nala stays out longer, and I keep watch. I don’t want her out long. They sleep deeply in the cool house.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Air conditioner, Bolgatanga, Ghana, heat, popsicles, summer, summer-hibernation
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
July 29, 2025 at 2:21 pm
Hi Kat
My better half and I have two different opinions as to what’s comfortable. She keeps the AC in summer going full blast and the heat very low in winter. Even though it’s 94° outside, I sit at my desk in our home office wearing a hoodie. 🙂
When I was kid, the heat never bothered me either. Now, we couldn’t live without AC and heat in the winter. North Texas can be the hottest and the coldest place in North America, no that title goes to Wichita Kansas. Besides hot summers and freezing winters the wind blows constantly in Wichita.
Over the years the weather in North Texas has changed due to the Corps of engineers built reservoirs all around the area. This has raised the humidity levels making the summers feel even worse.
July 29, 2025 at 2:53 pm
Hi,
I never used to need a really warm house in the winter, but that has changed. I get cold. I do keep it at 68° to save money but I do wear a sweatshirt all time or even, heaven forbid, turn up the heat. In the summer, 71° is what I keep my AC on.
We can have really humid days on and off all summer, but August is the worse. We are far better than Boston averaging usually 5° or more less warm temperatures in the summer and the same in the winter. One winter day we were almost 10° warmer. For that we thank the ocean as it holds its heat longer in the fall so we have delightful temperatures then, but the converse is true. It holds the winter cold and we have a miserable spring.