COMMAERNTTARY HOW HOT IS IT? commuted from North New Jersey to the city. I never thought much about it. I was doing what everyone else was doing. That meant bearing up under the heat in my three-piece suit. I would ride a bus to 185th Street and then get on an “A” train that was headed downtown. On a nice summer day, I figure it was probably close to 110 degrees in the subway. I stood tall, sweating through my clothes trying to look cool. Unfortunately, in reality, I was anything but “cool.” After I had moved to Florida to attend college, I learned why people live here. Christmas break was approaching, and I was headed back to New Jersey, but it was still warm here. I had planned to go back and show off my tan, even though I hadn’t gotten one yet. In the one day I In the Broadway show Pajama Game, there was a song called, “Steam Heat.” I heard it the other day, and I immediately thought of a conversation I recently had with a friend up North. I suggested that he might want to consider a move to Florida. He should have started singing that Broadway tune, because all he talked about was how hot it is in Florida, and how there is no way he could stand the heat. A lot of my friends talk about Florida even though they have never lived here. I moved to Florida from a fifth floor walk-up two blocks from where I worked at Rockefeller Center in New York City. (It was a good deal because the landlords did not charge us extra for the roaches.) When I arrived in Tampa, I wondered why I hadn’t learned about Florida sooner. At that point, I was not concerned with the heat or anything else. It was sunny and beautiful, and I knew it would stay that way most of the year. And that thought has never faded, even as I am now in my fifth decade here. I still find it amazing that those who live in the North have such selective memory when it comes to heat. Before moving to midtown Manhattan, I 144 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 laid out, I got more red than tan, but it didn’t matter to me as I knew I looked like I lived in Florida. My roommate drove me to the airport in 85-degree weather with the top down. However, when I arrived at LaGuardia Airport in my lightweight suit, I think I set the record for fastest run from the plane to the terminal. I had to go down the steps and across the tarmac. It was 19 degrees and my sunburn and lightweight suit were covering my goosebumps. I recall that day whenever I think it is hot. I even recall many days in New York when the temperature hovered around the 100-degree mark with more heat coming up off the asphalt. Yes, it is hot in Florida, but we can dress for it. As we Floridians all know, usually around 1:30 in the afternoon, the air starts moving off the Gulf and it never gets near the 100 degrees of a New York subway station. This is the time of year things start to cool off up North, so if we want we can fly north and watch the leaves change or whatever you think you are missing. But if the snow starts to fall, we just head home to defrost in our garden of Eden called Florida. 9 By Dick Crippen Dick Crippen
19187TB
To see the actual publication please follow the link above