Hot enough for ya?

The heat is literally killing some people in town lately. Last Friday an 86 year old woman, Ruby Straight, was found dead in her home near Oleander. She did not have an air conditioner and she had not used her swamp cooler in years. Neighbors described her as “independent” and said that for the past 25 years she refused to speak to them and any offers of help. She lived alone in a house with no A/C in Bakersfield for 25 years. If that doesn’t sound like a miserable existence, I don’t know what does.

Talking about the heat happens every summer in Bakersfield, but this summer it is especially so. The heat wave seems to burning all across the southwest. Compared to a lot of places we really don’t have it that bad. Last Friday the high was only 98° and tomorrow it’s supposed to be 99°. No biggie. Everyday the paper reminds us that this heat wave is nothing compared to the big one in '78 when we had 25 consecutive days over 100°. Ah, yes, the good ol’ heat wave of '78. I remember it well. That was the summer Flo and I lived in my pool. I wish I still had that pool.

Which reminds me…if the city can’t afford to maintain the public pools and are replacing them with “spray parks” where are these kids going to learn to swim? The Kern River?