Native Texan (before AC)
After my one-hour cardio workout today, I’m recovering in the AC of my living room under a ceiling fan going at high speed. According to my mom’s genealogy research my ancestors came over with the Old Three Hundred. (def: The Old 300: the settlers who received land grants in Stephen F. Austin’s first colony.) Most of them, farmers and ranchers, were given land along the Brazos river to “improve.” One quarter of the population were slaves.
Somehow, these people settled Texas without air conditioning. I’m pretty sure, we’d have all abandoned Texas by now, if there were no cooling systems other than rivers, fans, and shade. And, as you may have guessed I’m a descendant of the 300, not a member. Probably, my past grandfathers owned slaves and cultivated Texas. I’m a native Texan with tanned skin and lifetime acclimation to the 100-degree days ahead.
On the other hand, I’m fainting in the heat today. For one hour. The only place for a Texan in the summer is inside with a glass of iced something and a slice of ice-cold watermelon. My GF’s plunge pool helps, but you’ve got to be motivated to jump into a cold pool, no matter how hot you are. Still, Texas is my home.
For now. I say that, because the climate story is only getting worse. I foresee moving to the mountains of Colorado or New Mexico before the 101-days become 115-days. It’s coming. Our air conditioning is not prepared for the near future. The forest fires in Canada and California are not going to get better. So, where do we go? And, knowing we can’t all go there, what is everyone else going to do about the heat?
The local fan-drive is on this week, to collect box fans for the poor. But, a month from now, when those temps begin pushing past 105, and the heat index says “dangerous,” what’s going to happen to the poor and infirm? Texans don’t have the best track record for taking care of people in need. And, learning that everything we’ve been taught about the Alamo, from elementary school through college, is a LIE.
The Texas fight with Mexico was not about independence. Mexico wanted to free the slaves. Texans knew their ranches and farms could not survive without indentured workers. So, Mexico came to bust our butts at the Alamo for ONE REASON: to emancipate the slaves.
Well, fk.
*ref: The Old Three Hundred
Read more Short-Short Stories from John.
