This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Hot and Sweaty People and Green, Patchy Lawns

A warm, but light-hearted look at summer heat and dying lawns.

It’s been hot and humid lately. Not that I mind. After all it is August and isn’t that when it SHOULD be hot and humid? Hot and cold is all relative anyway. When I say “hot” do I mean 75, 85, 95, or more than a 100 degrees? In Arizona it is constantly more than 100 in the summer time. Here, when we say “hot” we usually mean “anything over 80 degrees Fahrenheit”.  

The funniest thing is how in many buildings, whether business or government, employees and staff often have to wear sweaters in the summer because the temperature is often between 68 and 75 and that seems “cold”.  But is it really?  Or is it only because we get used to feeling that baking sun on our skin outside only to walk in an air-conditioned building and feel the cool, dry air and we think, “Oh my goodness, that is COLD”.

And I wonder, what did we do before we had air conditioners? People sweat a heck of a lot more. And body odor was more of an accepted part of life. How about in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries when baths were taken yearly, if at all, and people used to douse themselves with perfumes and hold flowers close to their noses? Imagine the smells that would emanate from simply coming within a few feet of another human being. I would think that such a scenario would inspire people to want to be monks or nuns that lived in clean smelling cloisters, the kind that make the jams and jellies, or that just lived off the land, as far away from the odor of the teeming mass of unbathed humanity congregating in cities and towns.  

Find out what's happening in Attleborowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Certainly if we suddenly stopped using air conditioners, for some reason, we would have to learn to cope. And likely our bodies would adapt. Maybe we would even just slow down a little, as life usually does in climates where there is intense heat in the middle of the day, and have a “siesta,” a nap, a rest, only to continue on the day a few hours later into the cooler evening. I think I’d like that. But our culture travels too much for that type of thing locally. That works if you are constantly within a few miles of your home. But when you have to travel to work over 10 or 20 miles, unless you have a dedicated “cot” in a back room, siestas are likely an impractical dream. But we would get used to feeling hotter, drinking more water, and perspiration might become socially acceptable.

Lately the lawn is dying. Do I care? Not really. I have some neighbors who really DO care though. And sometimes I think they make my yard look bad. I refuse to put chemicals on my lawn because I love the birds. I’ve seen too many dead birds due to lawn treatments so we go the “au natural” lawn way.Besides, it’s all just shades of green anyway right? When you look at my lawn you can see many different shades of green, kind of like a tie-dyed green material. My neighbor’s lawn is all the same, perfect in every blade! I like mine, weeds and all. It’s a lot less fuss, a lot more natural, and I can feel good, even saintly, about less chemicals without much effort! Thus, if it dies, no worries, it will come back next year. It’s really the flowers that I care about anyway. 

Find out what's happening in Attleborowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sun and patchy green lawns to litigation

So here is a “head’s up” about my next blog. What hasn’t really been dissected in a public forum is the Civil Service Commission report that was a product of the litigation brought by the ex-director of the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority, Michael Milanowski, and his assistant Meg Ross, against the City of Attleboro.  That document was available on Patch’s website and I believe the Sun Chronicle had it up as well. Simply because that case is being appealed does not mean that the report cannot be discussed publicly for the reason that the facts of the case are not and cannot be re-litigated. The question that is up for appeal is whether or not the Civil Service Commissioners abused their discretion in finding as they did for Milanowski and Ross, and that will not be a part of the discussion here. Stay tuned.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?