Hello Florida Summer

Say Hello to Summer on the Treasure Coast where the sun feels like it's twenty feet away and you need a shower after ten minutes outside. Believe me when I say: "I'm not complaining...just explaining." It's amazing here with the right mindset. Who said the temperature had to be between 68 and 74 to be acceptable to humans? What was the weather like when we didn't have air conditioning? It was the same.

When I was growing up we went to the lake cottage for the summer. There was no air conditioning there. In fact I don't think we had air conditioning in our house in town either and the furnace wasn't all that great either. But on the lake...it felt cooler. Why? Because you were on water that was cooler than the air and there was an abundance of trees shading the grounds and there was usually a cool breeze. When you are in a city...there's a lot of concrete and few trees and no breeze because the buildings block it. And no cooling water. 

So it's humid down here now and then...and most of the time I have a shine to my face from the sweat...so what. I call the intense humid heat a free sauna. In a few hours...your pores are cleaned out by the sweat and after a cold shower you feel fantastic. 

I love living here and discovering the way people live. I met a man by the river where I often go to walk and paint (river painting above). It was nearing sunset and he looked hot and tired. He put his head in his hands and sighed as I walked past with my dog. I asked him if he was ok. He said he was walking from Miami to Gainsboro and that he was tired. He had the sharp smell of someone who hadn't showered in many days. I asked him if he was homeless. He said no. He then went on to tell his tale:

"I got a call about a month ago from my mother. She was very ill and I didn't have a way to get down to Miami. My car is not that reliable. A friend took me down to be with her but said he couldn't bring me back. I was fine with it because I figured I'd be down there a while. Two weeks later...on mother's day my mother died. After making all the arrangements for her burial...I had no money left for transport home. I bought a new pair of shoes and a backpack and decided to start walking back home to Gainsboro. I was hoping people would stop and pick me up...but people don't do that much anymore. So I've been walking for about a week now. I was on the highway first trying to hitch a ride but it was hot and there was no place to lay down nor any shade. And no one was picking me up anyway. I made the decision to follow the coastline up. There is water here in all the parks for drinking...restrooms in the parks and places to rest. And if I need I can go in the water and cool off. I just talked with the police about sleeping here on this park bench and they said I could." 

I looked at his new shoes and backpack. "Have you had anything to eat?" I asked. He said he hadn't eaten since breakfast. After getting him settled for the night...I drove back home wondering if I could possibly even consider doing what he is doing. He said he walked about 20 miles a day and stopped mid afternoon to make sure he had a safe place to sleep. I can't imagine myself walking even a mile in the extreme heat. It was 95 that day with 98 percent humidity...one of the hottest days I've experienced here. And he had just walked 20 miles in it. 

Every Thursday morning I go out to paint en plein air with about 14 other painters. We start at about 9am and the summer temperature is about 75 to 80 when we begin. By noon when we stop...it's usually about 88 to 95 degrees. We paint in the shade...or with umbrellas and some of us have portable fans; iced water and other conveniences. At first it was hard to take. You have to wipe the sweat off your face or it runs into your eyes and you can't see. It's sometimes hard to breathe as the humidity rises. The intense sun makes you sun-blind after a few hours and the colors are hard to distinguish anymore. But the joy of painting keeps you going...particularly if you are getting a good painting. 

After meeting this man at the riverfront...I am less affected by the weather. I let the sun warm my body up until the sweat pours and cleanses me. I stay hydrated and Thank God for the cool fresh water. And I Thank God for being here in this wonderful place where I can paint year round in all kinds of weather.