Unquestionably one of the most dreaded and unwelcomed times of the year in our locale is from the first of July through the first of September.
This time of the summer is appropriately referred to as “dog days,” due to the extreme heat, humidity, and sultry climate.
Looking back in retrospect, I do not know how I survived working in the heat of the summer when I was growing up and working with my father in the bricklaying business. I can vividly remember the last day I work as a bricklayer.
It was the first of September in 1987 and we were busy working on the brick fence of Mr. A.B. Jordan, III. It was extremely hot and humid on that particular day. The “dog days” of summer were winding down.
As I sweated and fought hard to keep the “monkey off my back,” my baby brother, who was also working with my father as a bricklayer, was busy as usual taunting and teasing me.
When his annoyance got to a level where I could no longer tolerate it, coupled with the heat and humidity that was also having an effect on me, I dared him to call my bluff as I had already made up my mind to quit and go home to sit in the air conditioning. He laughed and said, “You ain’t going nowhere.” At those words, I told my daddy that I was quitting and going home. I got down from the scaffolding, told the fellows on the job good-bye, got in my car, and went home.
That was nearly 30 years ago and it was the last day that I worked as a bricklayer because my pastoral responsibilities became too demanding for me to ever return back to laying bricks. I alluded to that incident because it happened during the “dog days” of summer.
I want to use the rest of my column today in a helpful way of how you can endure the “dog days” of summer. Perhaps the greatest and most helpful thing that I can tell you is to stay out of the heat and sun, if possible during this time of the year.
Due to the fact that people are more prone to become dehydrated during this time of the year and thus suffer from a heat stroke, asthmatic attack, and breathing complications, it would be very prudent for all who are at risk to stay out of the heat and sun.
One of the greatest ways to fight the heat and humidity is to drink plenty of water and fluids. This is especially the case if you have to work outside.
It does not matter who you are, being outside in the heat will cause you to sweat profusely. I have noticed that some who work outside on the installation of shingles will endeavor to start real early in the morning while the temperature is relatively cool and bearable.
They will often work up to twelve noon and call it a day. I can remember when this technique of getting ahead of the heat and humidity was practiced by some tobacco farmers when I was growing up.
They would also start early in the morning sometimes at the break of day and be through with what they wanted to accomplished before 1:00 p.m.
It is amazing that those who have to work in the heat of summer will find some very innovative ways to endure it. My father would strategize during the summertime when and wherever he could by situating his bricklayers on the side of the house where there was shade.
As the sun would move to the spot where there had been shade, they would transition to the other side where there was now shade. Perhaps the most effective way to combat and endure the extreme heat during “dog days,” if you have to work outside in construction, yard work, harvesting tobacco, etc., is to practice these things that I learned while taking basic training at Fort Jackson back in the summer of 1975.
Firstly, we were instructed to drink plenty of water and other fluids that contained electrolytes that would help to regulate our bodily fluids.
Secondly, we dressed in dark color clothing (O.D. green) because they absorb ultraviolet rays, thus preventing the heat from getting to the skin. This technique of enduring the heat and humidity has been used by the Bedouins, a nomadic people who have lived in the Arabian, Syrian, or North African deserts, for a few thousand years. It is a time-tested method that works.
The most practical way to endure the heat and humidity of “dog days” is to use your common sense. Do not be forgetful and leave your child or pet in the car while you go inside a store to shop or transact business. All it takes is a few minutes for them to dehydrate and suffer a heat stroke in a car with the windows up. If it is 95 degrees on the outside, it is most likely 115-120 degrees in the car. In that type of steaming, suffocating, and enclosed environment, it does not take long for anyone, especially a young child, to experience dehydration and a heat stroke.
When all is said and done about the issue at hand, perhaps the most practical way to endure the “dog days” of summer is to avoid going outside during the heat of the day, except you just have to. If you must do something outside that requires some extended time, get up early in the morning and attend to it before the heat arrives. My final words to you are to make sure your air conditioner is working properly and stay inside, chill-out, and hibernate a little, until the scourge of summer is passed and autumn has fully set on the seasonal throne.