Air Conditioning Or The Lack Of It

Last Sunday evening my family and I had returned home and as we walked back into the house we immediately knew that something was wrong. Normally we do not have the air conditioning set very low due to my wife's rheumatoid arthritis. Cold air kills her joints and puts her out of commission for a few days until she can recover. Usually the thermostat is kept at seventy-seven degrees which has taken me quite a few years to get used to but I have more or less.

As I said, when we entered the house it was quite apparent that it was hotter than usual, much hotter. I could hear and feel air coming from the vents but a quick check of the thermostat verified that it was eighty-seven degrees in the house. I changed the batteries in the thermostat just in case that was the simple fix but it did nothing. We decided to fold out the bed in the couch for my wife and son and I got the other part of the couch (it's a large wrap-around sectional) and turned on the ceiling fan and two floor fans.

That made it bearable for the night and I texted Tommy to see if he knew anybody that could help us. He gave me a name and a number and luckily the guy was able to come out quickly and he had it fixed in about half an hour. It was a blown capacitor. He gave me some tips on what to do in the future and was on his way. Although it did take some time to bring the temperature back down to normal the effect was noticeable instantly.

It's amazes me that when I was a child we never gave something like air conditioning a second thought. When we visited my grandmother in Kentucky (out in the hollows) she didn't even have a window unit. We never used it in the car either. We just rode with the windows down and I'm sure there were plenty of hot days but it never seemed to register. That's just the way it was and complaining wouldn't help anything.

I haven't had A.C. in my truck since I got it over four years ago and I just deal with it. After all, the summer can only last for so long. But if it's not on in the house then we have a problem. I guess people as a whole are just acclimated to it being there but it wasn't always there. It makes me wonder if that's a good thing or not. On the one hand it's good not to be dependent on things that can go away quite easily. On the other hand though, it just feels so good when you've been outside doing yard work in the hot sun to come inside and cool off.

I guess I just have to deal with the change, it's not like time is going backwards or anything. Although if/when we move to Peru then things will most certainly change because most houses down there don't have A.C. or heating units. It's not standard like it is here and  nobody seems to have a major issue with it. Of course the weather in Lima is much different than here. In their winter the overnight low is only about fifty degrees and in the summer the high is around the mid eighties. Nothing that a portable heater or a fan won't fix. That's a good thing how I see it. Until then though, I'll just have to deal with the conditions here. Until they change again that is.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.