Children learn life lesson

We often under appreciate the simple things in life. I found this to be so true this past weekend at my home. My family, especially my children, learned what it is to really go “old school” when our air conditioning unit went on the fritz.
Talk about two grumpy people – my two daughters.
It really did not bother me that we were inconvenienced for a brief time while parts were obtained to repair our air conditioner. For the most part, we were not even at home for the first two days that the unit was in disrepair.
The days were a little uncomfortable, but the nights were actually quite pleasant. We simply opened a couple of windows and used a couple of electric fans to circulate the cooler air from outside around the house. What a genius I am to think of such a solution.
Well, to tell the truth, my father taught me this trick long ago. You see, as a child, I lived in a home without the luxury of the modern air conditioner. Our home in Asbury Park was built – can you believe it – without a central air conditioning unit. In fact, most of the homes in Asbury Park lacked this luxury at that time in Phenix City’s history.
To make life bearable in summer time, my father simply installed a window fan at one end of the house and opened the windows at the other end of the house. He would set the fan to pull the air out of the house and, in doing so, it pulled air into the house at the other end. We left our doors open to our rooms so that everyone could take advantage of the air flowing through the house.
I tried to explain this concept to my children, but they were not true believers. They decided to spend the weekend, at least most of it, at their grandmother’s house, which had air conditioning. My daughters even took my two dogs, Chief and Copper, with them. They abandoned their parents in this time of trouble. Can you imagine that?
Of course, my children have never lived in a home without air conditioning. They have been conditioned to air conditioning from birth. I doubt they will ever spend much time in their futures without this wonderful device invented by Willis Carrier. If they do, it will be because the units in their future homes go on the fritz.
My daughters demanded that I get the air conditioner repaired immediately – on the weekend. I tried to explain that even the air conditioning fixers took the weekend off. Thankfully, and with much appreciation, Al Brewer dropped by to try to ease our pain. He tried, almost had it fixed, but to no avail. The unit just would not cooperate. He had the parts on hand to repair a portion of the unit. Unfortunately, once that part was repaired, it only allowed Al to see the more serious problem. That repair had to wait until Monday morning when he could obtain the needed part.
In a matter of minutes upon his return on Monday, our home was cool again. My children decided to return to their home with one of the dogs – Chief. Copper remained with their grandmother because of his delicate condition – he’s a small puppy. They decided he should remain with their grandmother until they were sure the air conditioner was repaired and working properly. I suspect there is more to this decision than concern for Copper’s health. I think, and this is just my thought on the matter, that Copper decided to stay a little longer because he enjoys the pampering he is receiving – the same pampering my daughters receive when they go to their grandmother’s home.
But, this past weekend, they did get a taste of “old school” life in America. It was better than a trip to Westville, Ga., to see how things were done in the “old days.” I hope they chalk it up as a great life experience. I hope they can share their experience in the future with their children – maybe even with their great grandchildren. I bet their children and great grandchildren will react in the same manner that they did last weekend – with disbelief that anything so valuable to their lives would dare break down without notice. They learned it does happen. I hope they know it will happen again. It’s the cycle of life – and of air conditioning.