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IT'S HOT. IT'S TOO HOT to work outside where everything is baking in the sun. It's also too hot to go anywhere, getting into a garageless car and suffocating until the cool air kicks in. Fortunately for me, I've got another option I am free to choose--being penned up inside with the fake coolness of air conditioning. It doesn't seem like freedom to me, though; it makes me feel like a prisoner. I put off thoughts of it as long as possible, and dream instead of lounging in a hammock in the shade, sipping mint juleps and being fanned by someone else. Today, however, everything roasts in the sultry air. It addles my brain. The snug little blanket of heat and humidity is wrapped too tightly, and, alas, there's no one clamoring to fan me. So I've given up my freedom for refrigeration, and flipped that little switch to "cool." It's got to be a hot idea on a day like today!


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