Let’s Keep Things in Perspective, Shall We?
So, I heard on the news that the east coast hasn't been this sweltering
hot in nine years, and how everybody is dropping dead from heat
exhaustion, and everyone is all OH MY GOD IT IS SO HOT and it actually really IS hot, and then I stopped to think
about it, and you know what? It's hot, but we probably need to get a grip on ourselves.
It's true– we were actually here in 2001, and as I recall, it was a
blistering hot summer, and my office was all the way down on Hudson
street and we lived in the 20s on the east side, and every day I walked
from 2nd avenue to 7th avenue because the crosstown bus never comes, and
from there I would take the 1/9 downtown, and by the time I walked all
that way in the heat I thought I was going to burst into flames, until
this one day, finally, I stepped outside our building and it didn't feel
like stepping into a hair dryer anymore, and I was sooooo happy. It
was the most beautiful, most sparkly New York day, and I was all "wow-
this is what all the hype is about, I survived the hottest summer ever,
omg! Finally!"
I will never forget this because I took this really deep breath, and the
air was all fresh, and I was so excited that fall was finally here and
that I had survived the summer and my commute wouldn't be so sweaty,
and I'm sure you can imagine that there is some weird punchline coming
since it's me, and…
You are so right.
OK, here it comes! The reason I remember exactly what I was thinking on
that very day nine years ago is BECAUSE THAT DAY WAS SEPTEMBER 11,
people.
Yup. That September 11. Ask anyone– the summer was BRUTAL, and then at 8:15 am on
September 11,2001, everyone stepped outside and went "wow, what a beautiful
day!" and I think it's so funny now that it happened to be the worst day
in the history of the world and that this worst day occurred on what we
all thought was the best day after the worst summer, and at that moment
everyone went "oh, that heat– hmmmm, maybe not so bad after all!"
Let's just keep things in perspective, is all I'm saying. Yes, there is a heat wave going on, and yes, I am hiding in the weekend house because it has superior air conditioning, and yes, when I go outside it feels like we live in an oven. But– it's just weather. Come on!