Summer Gratitude: A/C

Auto-generated description: A man relaxes in a chair with a tablet, next to a window showing a sunny tropical scene with palm trees.

Lately, especially in the heart of summer, I’ve been thinking about air conditioning and the inventions I’m most grateful for that have matured over my lifetime. I don’t think I could have lived in Florida back in the day without air conditioning. You really notice it when it’s gone. Last year, after Hurricane Milton, we lost power for four days. I couldn’t sleep, not only because the A/C was off but also because my CPAP had no power. That got me thinking about the top five inventions I’m grateful for:

  1. Air conditioning
  2. Television
  3. Personal computer
  4. Internet
  5. Indoor bathroom

A quick story about number five. My grandmother had a cabin in rural Florida with an outhouse until she brought in a trailer with an indoor bathroom. I hated having to go outside to that outhouse, especially at night. You never knew what might have made its way in.

Each of these is pretty self-explanatory, but in Florida I’ve always said the state would be a ghost town without air conditioning. That’s why it’s number one.