How Hot Is Hot?

When I Was A Young Pup Growing Up On Franklin Street I Can Remember Some Very Hot Days. To Be Honest About It Though I Remember More Hot Nights Than Days. During The Day I Would Be Playing Baseball Or Riding My Bicycle Or Just Having Old Fashion Summer Fun. I Remember Once Complaining I Was Thirsty All The Time. I Asked My Mother Why. She Told Me It Was Hot And Our Bodies Need To Keep Plenty Of Water In It.
It Was One Hot Afternoon And It Seemed The Entire Neighborhood Was At Pappy's Gas Station Drinking An Ice Cold Pop. I Didn't Have Any Money And I Was Thirstier Than All Get Out. I Just Knew I Was About To Do Something I Did Not Want To Do. As I Stared At All The Guys Drinking The Tall Bottles Of Coke And RC I Sprouted Out The Door And Ran Home. Under My Mattress I Kept My Coin Collection. I Pushed Out A 1956 Roosevelt Dime. It's Value Then Was Not Very Much By Itself. However, By Removing It From My Collection Would Only Make It More Difficult From Having A Complete Series. I Knew Someday I Would Replace It. Even Though I Knew What I Was Doing Was Wrong, That Cold RC Cola Would Not Leave My Mind. A 56 Dime Was 90% Silver Which Meant It Was Valued More Than The Dimes Circulated Today. After That RC Became History I Wondered To Myself If It Was Really Worth It.
My Brothers And I Slept Upstairs And There Was No Air Conditioning. I Could Remember Sleeping As Close To The Window As Possible. The Fresh Aroma In The Morning Coming From Arnholt's Bakery Was Refreshing. One Morning I Opened My Eyes And There Sat Mrs Jacobs Swinging On Her Porch. I Wished Her A Good Morning Before Running Downstairs Where It Was Much Cooler.
I'm Not Into Keeping Temperature Records, So I Haven't A Clue If The Temps Were Cooler In The 1960's Than The Temps We Have Experiencing Into The New Century. Today We Have New Technology. We Now Have What They Refer To As The Heat Index. By Measuring The Humidity And The Temperature, It Gives You A Figure Of What It Really Feels Like. We Had The Same Thing Back Then, We Just Didn't Have A Name For It.
Bottom Line It Was Hot Back Then And It's Hot Today. However They Decide To Measure It The Result Will Be The Same. HOT!
After A Week Of Mid To High 90's, Pappy's Became A Regular Hangout. For Those Who Didn't Have Any Money, A Garden Hose Was Hooked Up In Back Ready To Spray. I Have Sprayed And Been Sprayed On The Hottest Days Of Summer Back Then. I Think My Very First Line Of Work Was When I Would Search For Empty Pop Bottles To Turn In For The 2 Cent Deposit. I Turned In 5 Bottles To Pappy's Which Will Earn Me 10 Cents. Pappy's Brother Willy Was Working. He Told Me He Was Waiting On Me. I Had My Hand Out For My Dime. He Placed That 1956 Dime In The Palm Of My Hand. He Said This 56 Should Pretty Much Fill Up The 1950's, Right? He Winked And Pinched My Ear As I Darted Out The Door With That Dime. The Crazy Thing About It Though Was I Wasn't That Thirsty After All.