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I just checked the temperature before sitting down to write. It’s 95 degrees and it’s 2 p.m. Before coming in here to my office I got a cup of coffee. While waiting for it to heat up I stood in front of my kitchen window and allowed myself to be blasted by very hot air streaming in from the outside through my open window. I always open my windows when it’s hot. Most people close down their homes, pull down the shades, and wait for the heat to come as though waiting for a hurricane. I am one of those rare individuals who prefer hot weather to cold weather and I do not like moderate temperatures--I like it hot. I have a few friends who also like hot summer days and we all get excited when we hear the temperature is rising and we’re in for a heat spell.
I live in a cooler climate area with a coastal influence (Sonoma County, California). Much of our county, but not all, gets a lot of summer fog that rolls over the hills from the Pacific. I happen to live in a town that gets the fog. It lifts around noon or sometimes—not at all. For many years prior to living here I have lived in areas with real summers. Summers where you can sit outside until midnight sipping something refreshing and not even need a sweater. If I did that here I’d need my sleeping bag. For many years after moving here I kept a fog calendar on my desk. People who do not like heat do not realize how much fog and cold weather we have in the summer. When anyone said “Oh, we’re having such a great summer” I’d pull out the calendar and point out how many crappy days we’d had. It is depressing to spend the summer in sweaters.
Recently, and in fact, for this entire summer, we have had many very hot days and a few hot nights. Yesterday was quite hot for this area, in the 90s, and the house was still warm at about 9:00 p.m. I had all my doors and windows open for a breeze and though it usually comes about 4:30, last night it didn’t come until about 9:00. Though I love the heat, I do not like a stifling evening house. If the evening breeze doesn’t come or if there is no breeze at all, the house becomes an oven. Because our area does not routinely get hot weather many homes here do not come with air conditioning. It’s used infrequently here so why incur the expense? However, I work in my home office and when it’s 90 degrees in this room and I have deadlines I need relief, so I bought a freestanding air conditioner. If I have nothing lined up to do, I can sit quite comfortably in the heat and read or listen to music. I also sleep better when it’s hot. For some reason my hot flashes aren’t as severe when it’s very hot. Must be some sort of body temperature adjustment. Heat for me is better than a hot flash because my flashes come with burning skin. I know—TMI.
The air conditioner unit is not a swamp cooler and it does not require installation in a window or wall. It stands alone, has wheels, has a vent you slip into your window to direct the hot air exhaust to the outdoors, and can be moved to any room where you need a little cool air. I’ve had it about three years and have rarely used it. I don’t think I used it last summer at all. I have used it this summer more than in the past few summers I’ve had it. If I have company I can wheel it to the dining room for dinner because most of my friends and family won’t come over here unless I do.
One of my fondest childhood memories is of swimming in lakes, rivers, and pools. I learned to swim very early and my parents indulged my love of the activity and frequently managed to take me places where I could swim. I was one of those kids who had to be forcibly removed from the water with the threat of punishment. When I left the water I resembled a prune. This, I believe, is when I developed my love of heat. The hotter the weather the more I could swim. I could swim from early in the morning until very late at night depending on where we would go.
My family liked to camp and we often went to a super hot region in northern California for a couple of weeks a year. Dad had a small ski boat and we both would ski and swim all day. My mother would sit under a tree because she never learned how to swim. She tried many times but never got the hang of it. Partly it was because she had a major fear of the water which inhibits learning how to swim. She wore a lifejacket when she got anywhere near the water or the boat.
Sometimes when we were in that area of California we would be warned by the camp attendants to either carefully watch our fires or to not have a fire at all. The fire danger is tremendous in that area and it would be easy to get trapped up there with no way to escape a forest fire. Since that early childhood admonition I have always felt guilty for loving the heat of summer. I know that with the heat comes tremendous danger from fires and I usually try to keep my mouth shut during this season except for my closest friends. A friend emailed me last night that I must be in heaven because the weather forecast calls for three days of triple digit heat. She was right. I eagerly anticipate the heat and have already lined up my gardening plans and my sitting-on-the-swing plans with a book. I won’t be able to do that as much as I would like because I’m working very hard preparing for a craft event, but I will get some heat. I love gardening in the heat. I can only take it for about 30 minutes at a crack but then I come in the house, hydrate, and head back out. I wear a hat and sun block. I like the heat but not skin cancer.
So what does this heat diatribe have to do with the title of my blog this week? Plenty. Each summer we hear sad reports of drownings. Most are children but we often hear of young adults drowning. I suspect the former is sometimes, but not always, poor adult supervision, and the latter is sometimes, but not always, alcohol or drugs. We often hear of drownings in rivers or the ocean. My mother would never in a million years wander into a river or the ocean without a lifejacket and even then would only go in about as far as her ankles.
A few days ago I heard a disturbing report on the evening news about the increase in drownings during heat spells. I instantly felt another guilt mode approaching. It made sense. Long hot weather that lasted for days or weeks would eventually draw even the most timid swimmer to the cooling waters. Perhaps they are so distraught over the heat that they forget they CAN’T swim. I apologize for liking the heat and know there are fire dangers and drownings and that it isn’t in the best interest of our communities to have too much heat due to the drain of resources and danger. But . . . some like it hot.
I do not recall ever taking formal swimming lessons. My dad taught me how to swim but more than that, he taught me how to not drown. Sounds silly because you would think if you know how to swim you won’t drown. That’s not necessarily true. Even swimmers sometimes have trouble in certain waters though usually they can manage it better than a novice swimmer. But dad taught me a technique that anyone can do without any problem and they do not need to know how to swim. In other words, with this technique if someone falls into water and can’t swim and can’t immediately figure out a way to get out of the water this is what they can do which just might save them. (People who do not exercise on a regular basis and decide to spend a day at the beach are in for big trouble if they go out too far in the water and this technique is especially helpful for these folks.)
All that is necessary is that you tilt your head back as far as it will go, as far as your neck can bend, look straight up at the sky, and let your body simply relax. You will float. Panic and flailing your arms and legs is the technique used for drowning. Tilting your head back is the technique used for living. Of the two techniques, your best bet is the latter. Your entire body then may or may not be on top of the water but as long as you keep your head staring at the sky as though you were reclining in your bed, you will float. Your body may float down a bit but that’s okay. It may even be more down than up. Don’t worry about the elevation of your body. All bodies are different. The key is keeping your head tilted as far back as you can manage. Your body will accommodate that position and place you in relative safety. It’s a good idea to practice this to get the feel for it. Do not think you are drowning because your head is not completely above water. It won’t be. Only your face will be out of the water. That’s all you need.
You can stay this way for quite some time though water temperature will be a failure factor eventually depending on where you have your accident. Riptides and currents and waves may be a factor as well if you are in the ocean or a river, but often with a riptide and/or current if you just remain relaxed with your head all the way back, you might get lucky and someone will come to your rescue or you may be carried by a current down the way to a safer area to attempt swimming to shore. The water may lap at your forehead and cheeks but your eyes, nose and mouth will remain out of the water. A little water splashing in your face during this period will not kill you. Gulping large quantities of water will kill you. Keep your mouth and nose out of the water but do not worry about splashing water. Tilt the head as far as you can. It forces your body to float. I repeat: tilt your head back as far as you can. Make it your summer mantra. Even if you are a swimmer, you could accidentally fall in the water somewhere where it might be a while before you can get out.
I have often used this method when I have found myself too far away from shore and too tired for real swimming. The minute I realize I have a problem (because people who love water always seem to go too far for too long) I simply slip into my tilted head position and after a few minutes when I’ve caught my breath I add a little foot paddling and a little hand paddling (not panicky kicking and thrashing) and soon I’m able to get back to shore. Sometimes the kicking and paddling elevates the body and this allows you to get to shore more quickly. This method is similar to treading but treading takes energy and if you have none or do not know how to tread and you are in the middle of a body of water, you just have to tilt your head and do nothing (until you regain your energy and composure and then use your dry brain to figure a way out of the situation).
Some people can’t tread. I don’t know why because it’s easy and if you are tired from treading for too long you can easily tilt your head and slow the treading till you feel rested. My dad could tread so fiercely you could see his waist and the top of his swim trunks! He only did this to impress me and it worked. And he could not sustain this display for long. I do not, nor have I ever, had that type of strength. And it’s not necessary. I’ve stayed in deep water a very long time by doing a simple slow tread with alternate head tilting to relax and catch my breath for a swim in to shore.
Once when I was perhaps seven or eight, my parents and I spent the day at the beach in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has fun waves and I absolutely loved swimming there. I always went out further than I should have and once got stuck. I kept getting pulled under then spit out and each time I got back up I saw my mother on the shore—waving at me. I tried to wave for rescue but they thought I was happily waving back and playing in the waves. I was actually drowning. I was desperately trying to swim back in and instead I was being sent every which way but in. In fact, I was headed out. Once I got out a ways I was exhausted and when I looked at my parents, my mother waved me in. If only.
Finally, I decided to rest and see where I’d end up. I tilted my head back and waited a while and when I finally looked to shore I found I was quite a distance from our picnic area and my mother was walking down the beach looking at me. She waved her arms again and I almost cried. I knew I was headed to Japan.
Eventually there was a way through the waves for me to sort of slip back in. By this time I was totally exhausted. I went back to the picnic blanket and was scolded about going out so far and also scolded that when I’m told to come back in I must do what I’m told. I decided not to explain that I was drowning.
Santa Cruz also has a great river that feeds into the ocean and many kids would jump off the adjoining cliffs into the water. Sometimes we would accidently jump in at the wrong point and the river water would take us out to sea! Ah, those were the good ole’ lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.
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