I was 38 years old before I lived in a home with air conditioning. Growing up in Orlando, while our parents had a window unit in their bedroom, the rest of the house depended on a massive in-ceiling fan that drew the evening air (relatively cool) up and through the house and discharged into the attic space forcing out the heated air that had collected during the way. It mostly worked. The US Naval Academy was not air conditioned. (That first summer in Annapolis exposed me to levels of heat+humidity previous never experience by this Florida boy). The submarine was air conditioned. My “when in port residence” in Aiea Hawaii didn’t have, didn’t need it – thank you tropical breezes. My home in Virginia was not air conditioned until it was added… when I was 38.

I have often wondered if air conditioning was the beginning of the downfall of western civilization. Growing up in Orlando, folks sat on the front porch in the cool of the late afternoon and early evening, …. watching all … reporting all misbehavior to the appropriate parents. It was a civilizing element to an otherwise steamy summer world. It also meant we knew our neighbors – which in the case of my block growing up was fortunate all things considered.