Where’s the warm

VIEWPOINT

By RALPH HARDIN

Evening Times Editor

I reluctantly pushed the necessary buttons on my thermostat Friday morning to switch over from air conditioning to heat. It was 67 degrees in the house, which isn’t intollerable or anything but not “lounging around in shorts and a tank-top” levels of comfort either.

So, my furnace kicked on for the first time in a couple of weeks and in short order, it was a balmy 69 degrees, which is my goto setting for the heat (whereas 71 is my preferred AC number). Sigh… look, I know it’s only mid-April, but I’m ready for the warmer weather. My daughter plays softball for the West Memphis Blue Devils. We have played 20 games this season and have had what a person might call “nice” weather for exactly two of those games — and those were in Alabama. We’ve satand watched her play in near-freezing cold, high winds, cool

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and cloudy, even rainy weather this season, and if there’s sunshine, oh, well bundle up, buttercup because it’s only going to be 48 degrees or so. I mowed my yard yesterday in jeans and a flannel shirt. That ain’t cool. Look, Mother Nature… if I’ve got to cut the grass, it had better be warm outside. That’s the trade-off.

Now, I know it’s not going to be long before we’ll be longing for these kinds of days as we sweat and stew in the triple-digit heat indexes of the summer. And maybe I’m in the minority here, but that’s better than it being cold and gloomy — and what is up with the wind? How many super windy days have we had in the past month. I don’t remember it being this windy for this long. And, of course, no matter which way it’s blowing, it’s the opposite side from the part in my hair, so I end up looking like a rooster by the time I can even walk from my truck to my car.

And I have like sooo many outside projects I need to get to but I can’t get the three nice days in a row I need to get them done.

Not only that, but it’s interfering with my quality stroller time with my grandson. You can’t really enjoy a nice stroll with the wind hitting you in the face half the time.

And, of course (and I can’t stress this enough) I’m ready to commit full-time to my shorts and tank-top attire…