No, There Is Nothing Wrong With My AC
The air conditioning recently went out in my lovely wife’s suburban.
It’s summer in Utah.
Utah’s in a desert.
Utah is hot.
Fortunately it was just a broken belt.
And also fortunately, it’s something I can fix.
A trip to the auto parts store, a new belt and a couple of hours pulling off the serpentine belt and the AC was working good as new.
And my lovely wife was grateful. And cool while driving around.
“Thanks for fixing it. Is there something wrong with YOUR AC?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
“I just don’t see you using it often.”
She’s right. I don’t use my air conditioning much. But, it works perfectly.
Did you know that Paul Newman, the famous actor who played in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and who voiced Doc in Pixar’s movie Cars, was also a race car driver? In fact, he was so dedicated to racing that he would often tell his racing crew, “I have to go make a movie so I can finance racing.”
Race cars get very hot. NASCAR race cars, for example are about 30 to 40 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. That means it can easily get to 130 or 140 during a race.
Paul Newman used to prepare for a race by sitting in his trailer with the AC off. It would get very warm as the race day sun beat down on an aluminum trailer. He said he did it to acclimatize himself.
I’m not a race car driver. (Or a famous actor.) In fact, my 1994 Corolla is pretty far from a race car. But, I don’t mind the heat. So, racing isn’t why I do it.
I honestly don’t know why I do it. It just feels right to have the window down, even in the heat. Today was about 90 degrees while driving home. Even on the freeway I drive with a window down. The monsoon season has started here in the Mountain West. A few raindrops sprinkled the freeway. The raindrops stung my hand as I made the wavey motions that kids make out the window.
I arrive home sometimes with my back stuck to my seat. I could be cooler. I could crank the AC and when I arrived home the heat would be a shock as I exited the car.
I don’t really know. But, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I drive a 30 year old car with manual transmission and manual windows, and I also write with a fountain pen, carry a pocket watch, and don’t use air conditioning.
I’m not sure what it says about me, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren. Order Miscellany II, an anthology including his latest short story, “The Mercy System” here
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