This past week our air conditioner went on the fritz. This reminded me of the days of my youth when we never had no air conditioner, just a small fan.
Have you ever stepped back and reflected on the past and wondered to yourself - how did I ever get along without that? I am thinking about air conditioning to be precise. When thinking about that, I began to look at other things. When I was growing up, our air conditioning consisted of a small fan that was self-contained in a brownish gray metal box-like case with the motor on the bottom and the actual air came out of a vent on the top. It didn’t move much air, but it was all that we had. My Mom had purchased that fan for her beauty shop, which was in our house, and we never ran it unless there was a real need (company, customers and extreme heat).
There were many hot and humid summer nights like the ones we’ve been experiencing, where the only air conditioning we had was coming through the window. Our house was a small story and a half, and, when it got really hot, I can remember sleeping on the living room floor on a sheet. The upstairs of the house where us kids slept had two windows, one facing north and the other facing south, so if you had a breeze out of the east or west you got basically nothing. This is when sleeping downstairs was allowed.
We never had air conditioning at our house when our kids were growing up. Our house stayed relatively cool in the summer, but there were hot summer nights when we’d let the kids sleep in the rec room in the basement. We eventually got air conditioning after the boys were grown and had moved out. I told my wife that maybe the air conditioning would make sure they’d come back to visit. I was just kidding, of course, because we’re lucky that they’re close and we’re able to see them quite often.
The other day I was thinking about how something as simple as a slight breeze and an old shade tree could seem golden and something to be savored like a fine wine. As a kid, if I was mowing lawn or helping bale hay and took a break to sit under a shade tree and sip a glass of Kool-Aid, it didn’t seem like things could get any better than that. There were no Monster, Red Bull or other “energy drinks” to make you energized. I was quite a dreamer as a kid and that helped me enjoy my childhood without having a lot of material things. When kids have dreams, they can go just about anywhere they want and be just about anyone they want to be.
When we’d play Cowboys and Indians, I’d always want to be Roy Rogers or Gene Autry and catch the bad guys. When we’d play football in the yard, each of us would have a favorite player and you could almost be “that guy” for a little while. I think my favorite player was Bobby Lane or Tobin Rote, both quarterbacks, of course, because they were the ones that stuck out in my mind.
Having a good imagination is huge, and I almost think that in today’s society we sometimes tend to over-organize for our kids. We can plan too many things for them to do instead of letting them just be kids. How often do you drive by a park and see a bunch of kids just playing a pickup baseball game?
We used to have a neighborhood ballgame at least once a week. During school we’d get together on Saturdays and play football. Everyone played if they wanted to, and the funny thing was - everyone did play. At one time or another everyone got a turn throwing, running with or catching the ball. Yeah the older kids maybe hogged the ball more, but that was the pecking order of being a kid. There were times when a kid would get mad and “take his toys and go home,” but that same kid would be there the next time a game was on.
Yes, it’s fun looking back to those days when Kool-Aid was the drink everyone looked forward to, and, if you’re old enough you remember “Fizzies,” which was a unique drink. It was kind of like a glass of Kool-Aid with carbonation. My favorite flavor was root beer, but it did come in other flavors too. You wanted to drink it fast because, once it lost its carbonation, it lost a lot of its appeal.
Summertime was when a lot of folks went to visit friends. It was not uncommon to look out the front window on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and see someone turning into the driveway to visit us. Mom always kept the “fixin’s” for potato salad on hand. She’d boil potatoes with the skins still on and have them in the refrigerator. This was usually done on Saturday morning, so that they’d be there cooled down and ready for company - just in case. If you were going to be surprised by company, it would usually be on Sunday afternoon and, of course, they’d stay for lunch (not an option). Mom could have a batch of her “famous” potato salad ready in a jiffy. Cold meat & cheese sandwiches, potato salad and Van Camp’s beans topped off with a tall glass of Kool Aid or a cold brew for the adults. It just didn’t get any better than that on a hot summer afternoon.
Although I must admit that I do enjoy having air conditioning, there is still something that I do like about being outside on a hot summer’s day. If you’re doing yard work and sweating in the hot sun, just stopping for a while and sitting in the shade makes any day seem like a good day.
Take a break from that air conditioning, find a nice shade tree and enjoy the outdoors, and while you’re at it, maybe do a little fishin‘.
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