August 3

When the Going Gets Hot

MacLightingAir conditioners go out in the middle of summer. It’s like Murphy’s Law. But when it happens in the middle of a 100+ degree heat wave, it feels like a sick joke. Even though it’s 102 degrees, I try to get outside and run errands because I can do them in my air conditioned car. And because the grocery store is air conditioned, I go there more often than I need to.

So it’s been six days since the air conditioner died at my apartment, and the property management finally has someone coming to put in a new one tomorrow. After work (which does not have air conditioning but mercifully the temperature does not exceed the high 70s because the building is green, as in, ecologically designed), I drive to the grocery store for about the fifth time in as many days. It’s a large chain that has its own gas station, and I pull in to fill up. I roll down the window and a furnace blast of air overtakes the car. A middle-aged man comes up to ask me what I’d like (because there is no self-service in Oregon – I think it’s a job thing) and I realize something.

This gas station attendant, who is older than I am, is in the heat all day long. There’s no air conditioner. There’s no ecologically-designed cooling system. All. Day. Long.

And as my tank begins to fill, I glance out across the parking lot and notice a man, a store employee, collecting the shopping carts. When I was twenty years old I did that one summer, and I remember how hot and exhausting it was, wrangling a conga line of carts. But this isn’t some guy in his twenties out here. He looks like he’s in his fifties, perhaps doing the only job he can find. And it’s 102 degrees.

I think of other professions requiring a lot of outside time – construction workers, road crews, military. And the hottest, most grueling job of all – firefighting. When you think of Oregon, you think of rain – the green Pacific Northwest, right? But southern Oregon is considerably dry (compared to the northern parts of the state), and our summers get very hot. Add lightning storms without rain (or other causes), and you get forest fires.

This past week we’ve had 5 forest fires raging here in southwestern Oregon, and I am proud to say that my sister (in the photo above) is one of the firefighters working to contain them. These are the people who run in when everybody else is running out. They put themselves in harm’s way, and even though they are specially trained to do so, horrible accidents happen, and firefighters lose their lives. Our family mourns the tragic loss of the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Crew in Arizona who died just five weeks ago. Our hearts are with their families as we support my sister, a member of the Redmond Hotshots of Oregon, and all other dedicated wild land firefighters who bravely carry on.  They love what they do and they do it well. Whenever it starts getting hot here in southern Oregon, I think of them with gratitude and respect. And a good helping of sisterly pride.


Tags

firefighting, heat wave, summer heat


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  • Mom Madeline says:

    And, a big helping of motherly pride, too! Thanks for all you said! I am quite proud of Macrina, also, and talk about her fighting fires as a Hotshot on my ranger programs when the subject comes up, and I brag to my work colleagues, as a mom would. I don’t have facebook, so I really appreciate the picture you posted of Mac! And, oh yes, I am quite proud of you, too, and your other sister and brother!! And, my 4 grandchildren! Just a proud Mama.

  • Put some brotherly pride on top of that, too! I hope everyone there up in Oregon takes the time to stay hydrated in such overheated times. Wish I could go river rafting with you guys! Stay safe and take care.

  • Tanya Savko says:

    Thanks, Karen – love it!

    Thanks, Mom, and we are proud of you, too! How many people get to say, “My mom is an Interpretive Park Ranger”?!

    Yeah, Lex, one of these years you need to join us. River rafting is a great way to beat the heat (and we miss you, too)!

  • Thank you for the reminder to be grateful for what we have. Our AC was out all day yesterday, and will be fixed today. It’s hot. But it could be worse.

    Your sister is the coolest.

  • What a lovely, heartfelt post. You touched several bases here and tied them all together in the end. I bet your sister’s proud of you, too.

  • Later this year I’m going to be collecting writings on sisterhood (short memoir or fiction, prose or poetry, good and bad experiences, sisters by blood or sisters bonded by other means). I’ve been organizing sister-themed readings at a boutique called Sisters in Sonoma, Calif. for a couple of years now (two or three times a year). The boutique sells Reversible Skirt, too. It’s been a wonderful fit. Some of the contributors will be folks who’ve read at the boutique, but I want to include perspectives from other regions, too. I’d like you to contribute. I don’t have the details or timeline mapped out yet, but it’s definitely going to happen. I want to pay writers at least a $5 honorarium, plus a few free copies of the book, and then discounted additional copies. What do you think?

  • Tanya Savko says:

    Wow, thank you, Laura! I will email you : )

  • You’re so right, and it’s so true, it could always be worse! Thank you, fire fighters and everyone else out there doing what you’re doing, no matter what

  • So true !!!
    I think Firefighters are the most amazing type of human
    So many outdoor professions are so grueling in the hear
    I also think of folks in India and other hot countries who live in the extreme heat

  • […] almost funny that this year my air conditioner went out during the summer, and now, after moving to an entirely different housing complex, I’ve been having extended […]

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