I LOVE Texas. But, well, I HATE Texas summers. We are up to 40 CONSECUTIVE days over a hundred degrees in my town, though the "official" record (at DFW International Airport) is only 31 days, and 52 for the year. The last time we were less than 90 degrees was May 26th. Last week, on Sunday, I put a small cooler in my car, because I thought I might make a stop at Central Market on my way home, and wanted to be sure I had somewhere cool to have any cheese or anything else perishable I might purchase for the 40 minute drive home, since, well, it was going to be 105DAMNEDDEGREES outside. Inside the cooler were 2 reusable ice packs, a frozen bottle of water, and a Dr Pepper, in case I got thirsty on the way home. In the end, I didn't stop at Central Market, or anywhere else for that matter, and when I got home, I failed to get the cooler out of the car. Here's the problem, my car does NOT have tinted windows. I know, that's WEIRD these days, but, well, she's 20 years old, and she's got clear windows, so, well, she gets HOT when she's not parked in the shade. There is NO SHADE where my building at work is… Yeah, Monday it was 108, Tuesday 107, Wednesday 109, Thursday & Friday 105. Saturday afternoon, thinking that I would probably make a stop at CM on Sunday after church, I brought the cooler in, so it wouldn't be an oven when I put the ice packs in… and when I opened the cooler, I discovered what happens to an unopened can of Dr Pepper when you leave it in the car when it's 109DAMNEDDEGREES outside (and thus about 400DAMNEDDEGREES in said car).
Yeah, I am grateful for the fact that it was NOT a whole case of them, AND that it was properly contained in the cooler, rather than loose in my car. I didn't measure, but from looking into the can, I believe that about 7 of the 12 ounces originally contained in the can remained inside it… the rest was in the bottom of my cooler!
According to the forecast, it's supposed to be over 100DAMNEDDEGREES for another 10 days, at which point we may get rain and a high of less than 90. Honestly, once it's 95 degrees, it's too damned hot, and it really doesn't matter at all what the thermometer says, I am grateful for my a/c!
