A Hot House

-
Betty says she has
fibromyalgia. 

Also, 
Betty suffers from
cold feet. 
It's genetic, 
her cold feet. 
Nothing can warm them. 

Even so, 
the warmer the house, 
the better for Betty. 
Even in August. 
Even when the temperature
outside 
hits the high nineties. 

In winter, 
a hot house is 
not so much an issue, 
not for me. 
I'll go around
in a loose T-shirt, 
thin shorts, 
and bare feet. 

And, 
when I'm in my room, 
I'll throw open a window. 
But that’s in winter. 

In summer, 
by the time the
outdoor air
heats up to eighty, 
I 
NEED
AC. 

But Betty will complain. 
Pop’ll complain, too; 
not because he's cold, 
but because the AC
costs 
money 
to run. 

Not that times are tight. 

Pop knows
when the AC 
condenser's
running. 
It blows the backyard bushes. 

Using the furnace
costs money, 
too. 
Only Pop can't tell when it's on. 
He can't even hear it. 
He could wave a hand 
over a vent, 
but that
takes too much 
effort. 

Mind, 
if Betty 
PREFERRED
the AC 
to the furnace, 
you wouldn't hear a peep, 
not from Pop.

But then there’s this: 
Pop grew up 
during 
the Great Depression. 

Hencethus, 
the fewer things
left "on" 
the better.

And like 
many
of Pop’s 
contemporaries, 
he’d rather stumble 
or even crawl 
through dark a room
than turn on 
a damned light. 

April 24, 2004 


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