To put things in perspective....

[carmenbeaudry]

Every year about this time, the greater Seattle area has days where the heat is over 90 and sometimes over 100.  In my youth, for 7 years straight, I was working a showduring those days in a very lovely, but un-airconditioned, theater built in 1925.  Since we were a fairly small tech group, I'd usually get commandeered to run one of the follow spots. Running a follow spot, in the balcony of an un-airconditioned auditorium, when the outdorr temperature is over 90, is a special sort of hell.  I used to walk into a cold shower fully dressed before going to the theater, and slip out and pour water over myself every time I could get a chance.  Back in those days (gods, I sound like a real old fart, dont' I) hardly anyone had air conditioning, and we sure didn't have it in our cars (except for my dad's Cadilac).

So how did we survive?  Judicious use of fans and water.  Oh, and not doing anything outdoors during the hot part of the day unless it involved being in water.  If there wasn't a pool to get into then the sprinkler or the local lake works.

Oh, and think of my sweetie.....he's working wearing three layers of a uniform made of polyester, and for the most part either standing on a gangway or an unairconditioned guard shack.  And of course, this week he's been working days.

Comments

[javagoth.livejournal.com]

Reminds me of when I was working at that textile printing shop - with no A/C, standing in front of a 400+ degree dryer, picking up hot garments and inspecting and folding them during this weather. I soaked my head every bathroom break and it was not uncommon to see us squirting ourselves with water bottles periodically as well...

Your sweetie has my deepest sympathies!!

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

Yep. When I worked at Boeing, we were in a metal roofed factory with no A/C. In fact, the A/C from the air conditioned office vented into the factory. Oh, and we were sewing on fiberglass insulation. I used to go the the bathroom, take off my tshirt and get it soaking wet and put it back on.

The advent of computerized equipment has actually been good for a lot of trades, because the equipment doesn't work over a certain heat.

[fittzwm.livejournal.com]

YIKES! This afternoon, it's the Harry Potter movie for Dominic & me. Matt returns tomorrow morning and he has no desire to see it. Dominic is also very grateful his driving class has A/C (M & W 3:30-5:30)

[ladyrutile.livejournal.com]

LOL! I was telling a friend that I had soaked my shirt before leaving for home on the hottest day last week... She who grew up in TEXAS asked me, "Does that really work?"

[derekl1963.livejournal.com]

That trick doesn't really work in the extreme humidity of the South...

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

Yep, which is one of the reasons that Oklahoma is hell on earth.

[tradarcher.livejournal.com]

So sorry to hear about your sweetie and the evil polyester. But THREE layers? Wow, I can understand an undershirt and the uniform shirt but Three layers?
Current having 3 fans going.

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

Tshirt, uniform shirt and safety vest so he doesn't get hit by semi trucks (or so they don't have an excuse to hit him). I'm just glad he doen't have to wear a flak jacket.

[greytweed.livejournal.com]

Hey, a fellow former techie! I was usually behind the light board, myself.

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

I did costumes, but unless we had a show that needed dressers, I got drafted for lights, too. Which lead me to breaking three ribs getting shoved into an ancient dimmer bar during the show we opened on Friday the 13th.

[sjusts.livejournal.com]

Another techie chiming in. Did most anything except dealing with the public. The stage had A/C but the light booth did not and also did not have a fan to circulate air.

[lazymabel.livejournal.com]

Dan is driving around in his un-air conditioned cable van. At least once a day he has to climb up a pole for a connection and if he is really lucky he gets to crawl under a spider and dead vermin filled house with standing water.
Everyone feels bad for the post man but no thought for the security guards and cable guys (unsung heroes - keeping us safe and delivering entertainment).

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, at least the postal folks can wear shorts.

survivor...

[kathrynmice.livejournal.com]

I am a survivor of the year in the Tri-Cities where it was over 115 degrees in the shade. We never found the bleeping shade! That is desert, so the temperature drops 20 degrees at night. Yeah, that was still in the 90's! the heat wave lasted two weeks.

The thunder storms that ended it were memorable.

I know people think I am weird when I say we were sleeping in the bathtub. Me and the cat, in about two inches of cold water. Try it, you might like it.

Ralphie (the cat) had taken to lying in the sprinkler water runoff just like tigers you see in India lounging in rivers.

I don't live in the Tri-Cities anymore. I don't want to live like that anymore. The best I could do was get the house under 80 this morning before I had to button it up and go to work.

Well, its not under 80 anymore!

Rosceline

Re: survivor...

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

We just finished an excursion to Tacoma Mall and other air conditioned places. One of the things we bought was a "bandana cooler" marketed for dogs, which consists of a roughly triangular shaped piece of fabric with moisture absorbant beads inside. When you soak it in water, the bead swell into cool gel, and stay cool due to evaporation for quite a long time. When the finally start to dry up, you just soak them in more water. This is for Wade to wear around his neck, under his uniform, so he doesn't get heatstroke at work.