I accidentally started reading a forum thread that was talking about people's poor health and evil pharmaceuticals (on Amazon. Why do retail websites host non-product-related forums? So distracting. You don't need to be everything to everybody.). One person commented that air conditioning is partially to blame for people's staying indoors watching TV and not getting exercise or spending time with other human beings, whereas without the A/C, people are much more inclined to get out of the hot house in the summer.

I agree completely that lack of A/C forces people to go outside and possibly exercise! When my husband and I were living in a particular apartment in Evanston, we didn't have air conditioning for about 1 year, and Chicago summers are hot. That summer I voluntarily (meaning no whining involved) went to play tennis everyday because I was sweating profusely just sitting at the computer. It was really disgusting, just dripping with sweat not doing anything, and I preferred to sweat on purpose under the sun while moving, wearing athleticwear, and trying to beat someone at a game, with the possibility of feeling a breeze every once in a while.

Ah. Evanston which teeters between upscale college town and suburban ghetto, how oddly conflicting it feels. Hippie art fair under the train tracks. Muggings at gunpoint by the moonlit lake. Darkness and light. Take me, free me.