Heatwaves Are Survivable

A 57-year old man in New York City just succumbed to the heat wave. It feels 105 degrees Fahrenheit out there. I watered the plants early this morning and by the time I was putting the hose away I glanced at my handiwork and noticed the ground was almost dry. No, I'm not going to waste more water. If the plants survive, well and good. If not, I'll shopping for my veggies. I took advantage of the morning's low temp and harvested the squash flowers which the Wifey turned into a mouth-watering platter of squash flower cum potatoes omelet.

Every major city in the US has this heatwave problem every summer. Warnings and tips fill up the air. Sometimes the fire departments send out a patrol car in the neighborhood to check on elderly citizens who have no access to air conditioning. And there's always a place near City Hall where the sick and elderly can cool off. Well and good until the city budgets get hit by the "Sequester" stick!

The basic tricks to surviving the heat wave are: whatever you need to do, do it early in the day and after sundown; forego your outdoor exercise routine or, go to the nearest cooling facility such as a shopping mall or a movie house. Or, just go to Home Depot and browse everything. On a lucky day, you'll even get free pop corn!

In the Philippines, very few die from the extreme dehydration following encounters with Old Man Sol. The natives have perfected the art of doing nothing while the sun is up. Out in the provinces, farmers do their plowing just as the sun dips behind the horizon and it's going to be a happy event if the moon is out, too. The guitars come out and ... Oops! that was long ago. Now the Ipods and smartphones come out! The farmer, as he plows, can be hit by a falling airplane landing gear without hearing the roar of the falling object because his ears are plugged with ear buds!

But not every one is a farmer so for those with no soil to break, the seashore (we've got a coastline longer than that of the US) is the first choice. Need hydration? Fresh coconut water is nearby! In the city, the shopping malls and movie houses are the second choices. For the penniless who happens to be far from the sea, the fire hydrant or any pubic fountain, will do (such as that found at the Cultural Center!).

In many extreme cases, the shadow under the tree or bridge will do. Then there's the Pinoy's (that's what the natives are called) final resort: go half-naked and just relax under a tree, under a bridge, or under a parked bus. Just be sure to wake up when the bus starts to move!

Then a diet of cool "halu-halo" (a native concoction of sweets, milk and shaved ice) can't be beat!