Some Like It Hot

It's August in Texas which means it is very hot. This morning the low was 83 with oppressive humidity that made breathing quite a challenge. I did my morning Bike Ride with a good buddy who is kind enough to not ride off and leave me somewhere out on a country road in East County. I was in a full sweat before I got on the bike. Just topping my tires with air, putting on my bike shoes and helmet had me sweating big time. I drank an entire bottle of sport drink on the ride and sucked down some Hammer Gel to keep from passing out. Isn't it great to live where the heat index is nearly 100 by mid morning?

I remember my High School football twice daily practices in the Texas heat. Our coaches believed that drinking water just slowed you down - so we would practice for hours with maybe one water break. The fact that we did not die in that heat is nothing short of a miracle. I would begin the season at 175 and lose 10 to 15 pounds in the first week.

My Grandfather loved the hot weather - he never complained about the heat. He said that hot weather separates the men from the boys. In his prime he could work all day out in the heat and never slow down. At lunch, he would find a spot in the shade eat his lunch quickly - drink some hot coffee - black, of course - and then sleep till the lunch break was over. When he woke up he was ready to go till the old sun was sinking in the western sky.

In a day of instant Weather Channel, my favorite AP on my Blackberry, I monitor the heat index from my cool, comfortable office and talk about how hot it is! I really think the "heat index" readings have made most of us feel much more miserable during the dog days of summer. When I was a kid I had no idea it was so hot - 110 heat index? - all I knew was that when you jumped in the river on a hot day it sure felt good!

Soon we will be talking about the biting cold - looking for our gloves and wishing for summer again! I am reminding myself today that some like it hot - Papa did. But then he never complained about the cold either - he never complained about anything. He lived with a grateful heart.

Thinking about such a dear old grateful man makes me feel better already! The old dude was a cool character!

Just thinking, Steve