TERRE HAUTE —
Mother Nature hasn’t been acting very maternal. In fact, she more closely resembles Cinderella’s stepmother. I’m about ready to throw in the white flag. I don’t do heat and she, apparently, doesn’t do either cool or rain.
I am paying close attention to the weather reports, but the best they seem able to do is promise a vague percentage of an opportunity for “isolated” or “scattered” showers. This prognostication is followed by a look back at 1936, a year which set all kinds of heat records which we are now shattering.
Kids don’t seem to suffer in heat the way adults appear to do. I remember that Ed and I slept in the front yard. My Best Friend says he and his whole family — except his mom — also took to the yard or the front porch. My BF cuddled up with his dog and I remember Lady waking me by licking the dew off my face.
Later, Mr. Perkins built a bookcase under the two south windows in my bedroom. It was long enough that I could stretch out with my pillow and catch any summer breeze. Dad and Mom just sat up late in those pre-daylight-savings days.
Now Mother Nature is dipping into her bag of dirty tricks again and meteorologists are taking another look at 1936. I haven’t seen anyone sleeping out in the yard, but maybe that is a last resort. Some of the areas actually getting one of those scattered showers also have been dealt a second low blow with severe storms which have knocked out the power — an essential to living in 2012.
Reports the other evening featured an interview with a seriously inconvenienced man who wanted his electricity back on ASAP. Another interview dismissed the availability of going to a “cooling center.” He apparently wanted the power company to concentrate on his city and his neighborhood so he could bask in the comfort of his own home. Even if he had an air-conditioned car, he felt put upon to get home from work to a home cooled to deep winter temperatures.
I had to smile about that. In 1936 we had no cooling centers and the only air conditioning I remember was installed in the Paramount Theater in Aurora. It wasn’t a comfortable cool. It was cold and it was damp and we had no way to get to Aurora from Yorkville.
Toward the end of that memorable summer, Dad bought a 12-inch electric fan so Mom could flop in a breeze when she finished her day’s occupations. Ed and I spent many hours up to our arm pits in Blackberry Creek.
This summer won’t go down as one of my favorites, but at least we have air conditioning and our electricity continues to provide air conditioning. There is always some blessing to count.
Liz Ciancone is a retired Tribune-Star reporter. Her column has appeared on this page for more than 20 years. Send e-mail to opinion@tribstar.com.
Opinion
LIZ CIANCONE: There were no cooling centers in 1936
- Opinion
-
-
READERS' FORUM: May 20, 2013
The dangers of a little knowledge
Students enjoyed Rose study trip
-
Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river
At 96 feet wide and 2 stories tall, the power, impact and value of the Wabash will be evident.
-
EDITORIAL: Waging the ‘readiness’ campaign
Almost every Hoosier who starts college intends to finish. Unfortunately, those who arrive on campus unprepared in key academic areas are far less likely to fulfill that aspiration.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 19, 2013
• Flawed reasoning on gun checks
• A hint of things yet to come?
• Are the ‘makers’ doing the ‘taking’?
• The ‘Obamination’ is finally revealed
• Pondering effects of Obamacare
• Fantasizing on the ‘Apocalypse’
• Another view of Hinduism
• Great experience for HCMS students
-
FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
-
RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
Someone wrote or said a few years ago a statement that would define the word “Hoosier.” According to this urban legend, a Hoosier is somebody dribbling a basketball around the Indy 500 while eating a fried, morel mushroom. It did not define me, at the time.
-
EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 17, 2013
Hinduism doesn’t deserve ridicule — Shefali Purohit, Terre Haute
-
RONN MOTT: Israel’s Air Force
Recently the Israeli Air Force bombed and rocketed a convoy leaving Syria going to Lebanon with rockets that were going to be used to attack Israel. It did not get there. It was destroyed.
-
EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores
It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
-
Readers' Forum: May 16, 2013
Moving Deming folks sounds ‘nuts’
-
Readers' Forum: May 15, 2013
Participants rise to the challenge: I would like to write a letter congratulating all the Wabash Valley Roadrunners that competed in the One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon.
-
RONN MOTT: Media merry-go-round
Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. That isn’t a unique phrase to this writer or to this era in time. But, when it comes to the musical chairs of broadcasting, it certainly applies.
-
LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
-
READERS' FORUM: May 14, 2013
ISTEP failure exposes flaws
Community hasn’t changed its spirit
Egregious threat to nation’s defense
-
READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2013
• Women’s group criticizes Bucshon
• Let’s hope this doesn’t come true
• Many get thanks for fest success
-
MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
(Unless, of course, your mother is a scientific researcher. If so, carry a No. 2 pencil and take good notes.) -
EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes
The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
-
GUEST COLUMN: Nursing more than medicine and bandages
Being a nurse … Like most nurses, I chose this profession because I had a strong desire to help others and no other career would allow me the opportunity to touch lives the way I have been able to through nursing.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 12, 2013
Vigo Youth Football, entering 45th year, seeks new support
Media ignoring important case on abortions
Proud to be old-fashioned
Guns in school? What’s next?
Promoting hate not a ‘brave’ act
-
FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘Raccoons II’
In the Algonquin Indian language, raccoon means “working with hands.” They are really cute little fellows until they injure a child, or a pet, or leave feces around where you certainly do not want it.
-
Readers’ Forum: May 11, 2013
I just wanted to express my disappointment at the lack of response shown by President Obama after the Boston Marathon bombings.
-
Readers' Forum: May 10, 2013
CANDLES event plants new seed: On April 26, CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center hosted an event called “Sowing Seeds of Peace: A Celebration of Spring” at the Apple House. Our purpose was to introduce people to our concept of forgiveness as a seed for peace.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
-
EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
Our kids, truly, are ‘Making a Difference’
-
Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
A conservative Republican governor has super majorities in both branches of the legislature. One might suspect such one-party government leads to major changes in public policy. This did not happen in 2013 in Indiana.
-
EDITORIAL: Doc’s prescient prescription
Viewed through a 2013 prism, Doc Bowen’s response to the AIDS epidemic looks merely prudent, routine.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
-
LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
READERS' FORUM: May 20, 2013
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Raw: Tornadoes Spotted in Kansas
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
Today in History for May 20th
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Today in History for May 19th
Raw: Gun Scare Mars Cannes Film Festival
Obama Exhorts Good Deeds by Morehouse Graduates
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Winning Powerball Ticket Sold in Florida
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom
Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip
Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
Who is $600M Powerball winner in Fla.?
Top 5 Plays of the Day
Sailor Surprises His Mom At Her CU Denver Graduation Ceremony
Twiggy, the Waterskiing Squirrel
Official: ‘Amazing’ No One Was Killed In CT Train Crash
Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder
Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner
Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
