20 The Heat Is On & The Clothes Comes Off & The Lights Go Out

Summer heat is here and the clothes is coming off. People are wearing as little as possible and some of it is frightening. This is the season for “Skanky Wear.” As people show off their tattooed bodies instead of clothing, some of it is like comedy relief from the heat.

Another aspect of summer is the fashionistas or so they call their selves. People tend to be very ahhhh…for lack of a better word creative? the elaborate bling bling earrings come out the rainbow hair colors, weaves, wigs and futuristic hairstyles.

Soon the sweltering heat will descend upon us. It will be so hot the asphalt will get soft and gooey. The air will be so oppressive and the humidity so thick you will feel like you are licking the asphalt. They “the metheologist” are promising a blistering summer. I am not looking forward to it. I hate the oppressive air-sucking humidity that robs you of your breath, yuck. During the nasty muckiness if one were to encounter a lizard it would just watch you cross eyed while it is laid out in protest of moving.

Last July 2010 most of Toronto (T.O) was in a blackout! It was a power outage due to some blowout plunging most of T.O in darkness. Trains were down, traffic lights were not working and traffic was a nightmare. Police had to resorted to old school traffic directing, a dangerous tasks as there is always a fool with a license too ignorant to wait and will opt to plough through the chaotic traffic because they are too impatient to sit it out.

People had to walk to the nearest working subway station which was miles away and walking in the sweltering smoggy humidity was no small feat. Tired, drained and listless people became impatient, transit tried there best to accommodate the unaccustomed crowds minus the usual ebb and flow normalcy. Pushing and shoving became normal mode of functioning as people adapted the survival of the fittest attitudes and squeezed, shoved, cussed and ram their way into buses and trains in an effort to get home and away from the oppressive heat.

The last time this happened I think it was 2003 and my oldest daughter was caught in it. I was terrified because I was home sick that day from work but she was volunteering there. Luckily for me my colleagues took care of her. They called me to let me know she is all right as they all walked for miles to get to the nearest subway their moods and attitudes deteriorated as tiredness descended upon them. My daughter had the time of her life, she thought it was a cool adventure and the adults around her ask her to put lid on her cheerfulness as they were becoming irritated with her perkiness. She had fun. I thanked God neither of my children was caught in the nightmare in 2010 because when you do not live in the heart of the city itself the commute home is nothing short of catastrophic. The use of that word might sound dramatic but that in a nutshell it is what it feels like.

All joking aside I am noticing a trend of blackouts and this concerns me. I think I will have to apply some of my natural life skills inherent from living in the Caribbean so I am not left stranded with no means of surviving until power is restored.

This year I’ll keep try and keep you posted on the hairstyles, bling blings and tattoos…..