Today's MOZEN: Feel The Heat

F LoBuono

The New York-Metropolitan area is experiencing the first heat wave of the Summer of 2018. An "official" heat wave is defined as at least three days of 90+ degree temperatures occurring in a row. This is day #2 of a possible 4 or 5. Throw in New York's legendary humidity and the word for it is oppressive.

And, I love it.

I know, I know, I must be out of my mind. But, that was already a forgone conclusion.

Allow me to explain.

First, I'm dark-skinned. Well, actually, I'm more than just dark, I'm swarthy. All of my ancestors come from sunny Sicily, known for its hot, dry climate. I've been there and I can attest to that. So, genetically, one may say that my body is programmed to deal with hot weather and a blazing sun. In fact, my skin reacts so positively to the sun that I believe I get darker from just looking at a picture of the sun! Of course, especially early in the season, before my skin gets any real exposure to the sun's rays, I'm always careful to use plenty of sunscreen and avoid over-exposure. I may love it, but I know how damaging the sun can also be. And, I respect it. Still, once I get my base coat, I'm almost like a huge battery - storing the suns energy within the very cells of my body. I rarely can get enough.

In the winter, once I get cold, I feel like no matter how hard I try, I can just never get warm again - no matter how many layers of clothing I put on! And, all that clothing is ANOTHER burden for me. I have no desire to be rapped up tighter than a mummy. I don't want to take twenty minutes to dress just to walk to the corner to mail a letter. In fact, I want to wear as little as modesty will allow for. And, THAT means hot weather. I also love the water - at any time and any place. Even a cold shower on a blistering day can provide soothing relief. These are the things that can only be fully enjoyed on a sweltering day.

But, then, there are days like today when it's not just the heat, it's the humidity! Let's face it, NO ONE enjoys peeling themselves out of their sweat-soaked clothes at the end of a long day. I can't say that I enjoy these type of days but, they don't wear on me too heavily, either. I just accept them. In fact, I do more than that - I yield to them. In a strange twist of irony, I feel heat waves are like winter blizzards. Mother Nature simply WINS. You must slow down or you risk injury and/or illness. Blizzards can bring hypothermia and heat waves dehydration - serious stuff.

So, I don't necessarily stop what I'm doing - I just do it much more slowly. And, for someone who is occasionally known as Frenetic Frankie, the change in pace is actually refreshing. I suppose that's why we often see Southerns as somehow slower - in the summer, they HAVE to be. Whenever I feel the scorching rays of the sun beating down on my face and body, I instinctively think of this Heyward/Gershwin song made immortal by Ella Fitzgerald with these lyrics:

Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Oh, your daddy's rich and your ma is good-lookin'
So hush, little baby, don't you cry . . 

Everything is alive. Everything is in full bloom. My garden grows, indeed! And, at the end of the long, hot summer, the earth will yield its bounty. And, you can't get better than that.

So, BRING IT ON!!