The Wind in My Fro | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

The Wind in My Fro

Mississippi in July, ah. What joy the summer sun brings to us southerners! July in Mississippi means picnics by the lake, Smith County watermelons and out-of-this-world barbeque. But it also means humid, suffocating heat and, for those of us that sweat, an extra stick of deodorant in the glove box.

Moving about town in the hot, humid air is bearable. Thank God for the invention of air conditioning.

Even with it, though, only a portion of your journey from point A to point B is pleasant. You still have to walk to and from your car in the heat. Luckily though, unless you're one of those people who double parks at the very end of parking lot rows to avoid contact with other cars, the walk generally isn't too long. But whether it's 2 feet or 200 feet, most people are generally on the brink of stroke or sweating bullets by the time they reach their air-conditioned destination.

If your destination is a building, then great. It's cool, calm and ready for you to bask in it's air-conditioned sanctuary. But if the destination is your car, then the journey isn't over, yet. You've still got to wait a few minutes before the car starts cooling your air. So, what do you do in the meantime? Roll down your windows, right? People riding around on the streets of Chicago can maybe pull that off. But in Mississippi, the air blowing into your car from outside is probably hotter than the stuffy air in your car to begin with. These days, I've become an expert of sorts on the topic. This has been my first Mississippi summer with no A/C in my car.

When my A/C stopped working in November, I told myself, "Thank God it's November and not July!" I was happy to postpone the necessary car operation to fix my air until it got hotter outside, and I couldn't live without it. After riding around town with the exquisite comfort of heat during the winter months, it started to warm up in April.

April heat is way different than July heat. In April, my first reaction is to always to roll down the windows and cruise in the cool breeze. I'd actually go for drives along the Natchez Trace in April, just to feel the wind in my fro and listen to my iPod at elevated volumes. It was relaxing.

But one day, as April heat warmed to late-May heat, I reached for the A/C knob to cool my car with the windows up, and turned the dial to high. Hot, sticky air blew into the car, stinging my face. I had forgotten that my A/C wasn't working. I reluctantly rolled all the windows down, and drove on full speed ahead in an effort to gust up some wind.

I've never had any serious problems with my car, but I knew that I wasn't ready to take it into the auto shop. I had the stigma ingrained in me that taking your car to the auto shop meant shelling out the big bucks, and I wasn't cool with that (no pun intended). So, I rolled around town with the windows down everywhere I went. It wasn't so bad, at first anyways.

Then June came along, and with each passing day, it seemed to get hotter and hotter outside. I began taking a class at Mississippi College, and the daily 20-minute commute in the heat was awful. Then, the government decided that it was a good time to do construction along 1-220 and I-20—my only routes to and from Clinton. This meant sitting at a standstill on several occasions, as apparently people don't know how to function with a "left lane closed 1/2 mile ahead" sign.

I even started to get dry mouth. I'm sure that most of this was mental (my first thought anytime something weird occurs with my daily functions, I think I have cancer or, oddly, schizophrenia), but the heat was getting to me. By the time I reached the Jackson Free Press offices every day, I was two seconds away from passing out. I began complaining to people I knew about having no A/C and discovered that I wasn't alone. Several other people I knew were in the same condition. It was almost like we were part of an elite squad of sufferers.

One day, I stumbled into my house after a car ride, obviously in torment. "Mom, I think I have dry mouth from the heat," I wallowed. "I hate having no A/C!"

"You don't have A/C?" my mother asked, bewildered. I don't know why it never occurred to me to express this particular misfortune to my parents before, but I instantly felt very stupid. "No," I cautiously whined, still recovering.

After mildly yelling that I should have told them about my problem much sooner, she nonchalantly said, "You probably just need more Freon."

"What?!"

"Have you had your Freon level checked since you got your car?" she asked.

"No, I don't even know what that means!" I said, panicking.

After this shocking discovery, I discussed with several people in the elite squad of sufferers whether or not this "Freon thing" was plausible. The general reaction was: "What! That wasn't the first thing you checked?"

Awe. Some.

The verdict isn't yet in, but I have a date with destiny (a.k.a. the auto-repair man) next week. The thought of driving with A/C makes me happier than the thought of fireworks and my Aunt Bab's banana pudding on July 4.

If you've had A/C this summer, count your blessings. If you're a member of the elite squad of sufferers, my heart goes out to you. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated (apparently that's supposed to help your body stay cool in the heat. Go figure!). Also, I've discovered that if you ride with just the passenger side window down, the wind generated by a moving car hits your face more directly. If you're a slow mover, then get going. The faster you drive (under the speed limit, of course), the more breeze you generate, even if it is hot air. But most importantly, talk to a dad or mechanic and brainstorm solutions. You never know, it could just be your Freon level.

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