I have lived in the southeastern part of this country since I was many years old, and I have never lived without air conditioner.
- Since I am relatively young, compared to the aging population that is, I have only known a few people who have ever lived without air conditioner.
One of them was my Aunt Bet. At the time, I was genuinely young, so I didn’t give it much thought, really, however I did always guess that it was no fun going to see Aunt Bet because it was always so darn hot in her house. When any of us would go over there, though, she would always drage a box fan out of the closet and plug it in. Also, she would pull the cord on the ceiling fan and get that running, as well. Aunt Bet was my mom’s sister, and she had entirely no air conditioner in her house. If I gave it any thought at all, I think I just figured she didn’t need air conditioner. She seemed genuinely old to me, and everyone knows that old people have no furnace inside so they are always cold. Imagine not wanting or needing air conditioner? I can’t even go without air conditioner in my car! It wasn’t until many years later that I finally figured out that my aunt was in an abusive relationship. She wasn’t allowed to have heating and cooling, she wasn’t allowed to have a license, and she didn’t even get to do the grocery shopping. That also explained why my mother never liked Aunt Bet’s husband. That was a upset situation.