Chop, Chop

Wednesday, July 24, 2013 – Chop, Chop

Trying to survive the summer heat and humidity has led me to take desperate action:  I cut off most of my hair.  But before I took that drastic step, I tried other strategies. 

First, I tried the cinema method.  This involves going to the movies everyday that the temperatures and humidity are in the extremely uncomfortable range.  In three days, I saw three movies, all of them good:  The Way, Way Back, Mud, and Fruitvale Station.  But afterwards, I felt that I was spending too much time indoors.  Just because it was a little hot and muggy, why should I force myself to curtail my outdoor activities?  After all, people all over the world put up with weather that is this bad or worse. 

So my next strategy was just to get out there and ignore the sweltering conditions.  On Sunday, I convinced myself that the temperatures were going to be a bit lower and that I wouldn’t be bothered if I kept the right mental attitude.  I planned an active day with visits to the National Gallery of Art to see a small Edvard Munch exhibit and then to Union Market in Northeast DC for DC Scoops, an annual ice cream competition/festival.  I even convinced Marshall to accompany me.  (Elliott had to stay home because of his respiratory condition.)

Since we were using public transportation, this itinerary required four separate half-mile walks.  I was using my umbrella as a parasol, and hoping that the predicted rain might materialize.  It didn’t seem likely, however.  The sun just got stronger as the afternoon wore on.  As much as I willed myself not to feel the rising temperatures, I couldn’t prevent the outpouring of sweat that was soon drenching me.  My face turned bright red from the heat, prompting Marshall to express alarm.  Although I remembered to hydrate with frequent swigs of cold water, my body temperature was moving into a dangerous range.  Ice cream might help, and thoughts of the free samples awaiting us at Union Market kept me trudging ahead. 

When we arrived at Union Market (air-conditioned inside!), we discovered that the ice cream suppliers had set up their stands outside the market building.  To make matters worse, there were long lines in front of each stand.  But I hadn’t come this far to leave without a taste of ice cream.  I chose the line that seemed the shortest and waited calmly as salty drops of sweat dripped into my eyes and mouth.  After fifteen minutes or so, we reached the front of the line.  I was rewarded with a tiny plastic spoon topped with a miniscule scraping of freshly made butter pecan ice cream.  Maybe it was delicious, but at that point, I was too delirious from the heat to think clearly. 

We both had one goal in mind, i.e. get back home as quickly as possible.  We walked zombie-like back to the metro station (another half-mile) and boarded a Red Line train.  A new surprise awaited us:  the air conditioning wasn’t working properly.  An hour later, I stumbled into the house, stripped off my sweat-soaked clothing, and remained comatose for the remainder of the afternoon.  Conclusion:  ignoring the heat and humidity doesn’t work.  Time to try a new strategy.

Monday was another hot and humid day.  It was also the day Elliott and I planned to drive up to Lowe’s in Sterling, some 20-plus miles from home, since the Lowe’s closer to home didn’t have the item we wanted.  Then we’d stop on the way back home to do some errands.  Since we’d be in the car or in stores most of the time, I’d minimize my exposure to the heat.  I learned, however, that it doesn’t take more than half a minute in the sweltering air before I start sweating profusely.  The only solution seemed to be to change clothes several times a day.  The laundry started piling up, but I still wasn’t satisfied. 

The problem was my hair, which was constantly soaked and weighing down on my neck.  It was too short to pull up on top of my head.  However, there was another option:  chop it off.  Fortunately, I had an appointment at the salon already scheduled for Tuesday or I might have borrowed Elliott’s electric clippers and done the job myself!  I feel like a different person now and Elliott is very enthusiastic about the new look.  Even with shorter hair, I’m going to stay inside as much as possible until the heat and humidity fall back into a more comfortable range.  

The new look, before it even had a chance to dry.