It's Just Natural

Summer's here and we're hitting our first "big" heatwave of the season. So what? Well if you're one of hundreds of millions of Americans watching the daily news, this is a huge cause for alarm. Apparently it's never been this hot anywhere in America before. I bet you didn't know that. Neither did I, which is why I just sit back and laugh at what fools make up this nation. It's only been two days people, so it's hardly a heatwave!

The last time I checked, mid-July through late August was full of hazy, hot and humid weather. It's what we with any amount of scientific knowledge call summer. Summer is supposed to be hot. Summer is supposed to make you sweat and make you dread wearing too much clothing. Summer has been this way since the ice age was over and probably will be for many, many more years.

A woman was quoted in an Associated Press story saying, "Insanity! Insanity! This is not fit for human beings. Without air conditioning, I don't think many of us could last like this for too long." Based on an age old question, which came first: the humans or the air conditioning. With even a basic education, this seems pretty easy--the humans! Without humans, there would never have been air conditioning. And to further the fact that humans have been here longer, think about how many people have lived and still live in the deserts of Africa, India and the Middle East and the tropical rain forests of South America and the American Indians who have thrived for centuries in the deserts of the American Southwest. What about all of those farmers who have worked outside in the open fields, generation after generation? What a weak nation this has become. Oh, by the way, I don't have air conditioning and I'm doing just fine, thank you.

A reported four people have died because of the heat. Understandably, this can happen. But wait, didn't you know that you shouldn't be jogging in the broiling sun during the high heat of the day? Didn't you know that you shouldn't lay out baking yourself dry? Didn't you know that the sick, the elderly and small children should stay inside? The warnings are there, and if you don't plan on listening then unfortunately, you'll pay the consequences.

But don't worry, a few passing thunder showers will cool everything down. Oh right, we don't like rain either. Geez, such a bunch of picky brats, you Americans. You see after it's this hot for a few days, the atmosphere needs to release some pressure, hence the thunder storms. Oh wait, this is yet another inconvenience to your yuppy lifestyle. It can't be too hot, and it can't be too cold or rain too much, and God forbid we have snow.

The funny thing is that you will never do anything to change it. This is natural. Sure, we have global warming, but only to an extent. The overall temperature of the earth changes all the time. Sometimes it gets very hot and sometimes it's far cooler than normal. Even without global warming, we would still have heat waves in the middle of summer. Why? Because we're supposed to!

But the one thing that puzzles me year after year are the people who purposely move to and live in areas prone to bad weather. For example, Florida. Florida has always been hit with hurricanes, so why should it be any different now that three quarters of the American senior population has moved there. Last year was a horrible year for hurricanes, especially with the tragedy of Katrina, but it's not like the warning signs weren't there. If you live in New Orleans, which is below sea level, and a hurricane is coming straight for you, get out. And when you come home expect that things will be damaged, even completely wiped out.

And right now, Indonesia is experiencing the aftermath of another tsunami. Can someone please explain to me why you would build luxury hotels and resorts on the world's most seismically active islands? Volcanoes and tsunamis will always happen. Wait until the next Krakatoa blows. Are the warnings there? you'd think frequent eruptions of gas and ash should be good enough for most people. Or maybe even the fact that it has grown over 15 feet a year since it broke the surface of the water in 1927. I love volcanoes, but I'm certainly not going to stick around to see what happens. It's pretty obvious, but that won't stop people from crying "Why? Why me? What did I do to deservse this?" Well, you live in a place where you're prone to cataclysmic activity and you didn't do what they told you when the time came. Duh!

So now that I've added some hot air to the unbearable heatwave we're having, I'm going to buy myself a ginger ale and stay in my air conditioned office until it's time to go home. Then I'll venture out into the heat (oh my!) only to get on an air conditioned bus that will take me home to my non-air conditioned house. Am I complaining? No. We've never had air conditioning, and it's hasn't bothered me yet. So, I'm going to stay strong, suck it up and deal with the heat, just like everyone else who's dealt with it before me. And to prove I'm not the only one, I'll leave you with a quote from that Associated Press article: "Construction worker Chuck Trautman, 54, of Pittsburgh, spends his days outdoors working with a blow torch and wearing heavy protective gear. 'When you're burning with that torch, it makes it twice as hot,' he said. 'But you've just got to deal with it.' " Score one for my team!

Quotes from AP article "Americans can't escape sweltering heat" by Joann Loviglio

Pirate fact: Among some of the most famous ancient pirateering peoples were the Illyrians, populating the western Balkan peninsula. Constantly raiding the Adriatic Sea, the Illyrians caused many conflicts with the Roman Republic. It was not until 68 BC that the Romans finally conquered Illyria and made it a province, ending their threat.