Quote of the day:
"'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
--John Howard Payne (b.1791)
Very hot and humid again today.
Merrie was concerned that she might be having a reaction to one of her new medications, so she called for a doctor’s appointment and I dropped her off at about 10:30. He treated her and made an adjustment in her medication.
The doctor’s office was busy and she wound up spending two hours there while I hung out at Starbucks observing Labor Day latte culture.
Someone was sitting at one of the outdoor tables. As I walked by, I overheard her say into her cell phone that she’s an “outdoor person.” Good for her.
As for me, when it’s 95 degrees with 80% humidity, I’m an “indoor person.” Standing tall and proud. Not sitting and sweating unnecessarily.
When I first moved to San Diego I often heard someone make the following statement: “You don’t need air conditioning here.” This would usually be followed by some explanation involving ocean breezes, dry heat or the clause “it’s only hot for two weeks each year.”
I didn’t think much of this at first. But after I lived here a while, I started to get annoyed when someone said this. Because it’s not true. Read my lips.
One day it dawned on me that this statement needed translation. Once I realized that, I was no longer annoyed. These days I am bemused when someone says it. Especially when he says it with an air of authority.
The statement “You don’t need air conditioning here” can be translated one of three ways: 1) “I don’t need air conditioning here”; 2) “You don’t need air conditioning here, if you don’t mind being hot”; 3) “I don’t need air conditioning here because I don’t mind being hot.”
The last two translations are examples of what I call the “invisible clause phenomenon.” This happens when someone makes a seemingly cogent, short, mantra-like statement the truth of which only comes out when the invisible clause is revealed.
My favorite example goes way back. It is “Question authority.” The invisible clause is “except if it’s me.”
Monday, September 3, 2007
I Like My Air Conditioned
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2 comments:
I'm with you. Did you by any chance watch Nature on KPBS Sunday night about Death Valley. A portion of the program was devoped to participants in the Iron Man competition running through the desert in the middle of summer with the temperature above 120. Is this a possible new defintion of insanity?
The Death Valley Run has gone too far. Extended exertion in that kind of heat rates as a physiological experiment. People who participate in that competition have such a need to be the best that the masochistic punishment they undergo means nothing. I don't understand it. Maybe it can be compared to the concept of mortification of the flesh, which was popular among devout people in the Middle Ages.
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