The Heat
August 15, 2016
The tri-state area is burning up. It's hot, but not just any kind of hot: it’s the special type of hot that makes you irrationally annoyed. At who? At the weather, of course. For the past week, as I have oh-so elegantly wiped sweat from nearly every crack and crevice of my body in public and in the comfort of my own hotbox of an apartment, I have secretly damned countless atmospheric conditions that could have possibly caused the inferno that is currently enveloping New York City. Was the relatively mild winter to blame? At the pinnacle of the heat, right around when I was considering a move to the Alaskan wilderness, I heard the seemingly never-ending heat wave referred to as a "heat dome", so now I hate that, too.
In an effort to escape the sweltering temps over the weekend, we (me and my girl) took a delightful, uncrowded, fully air-conditioned subway ride to Coney Island with hopes of sliding into the water for some relief. Upon arrival, we were not surprised to discover that the rest of Brooklyn was there, too.
Unable to resist a good old fashioned ferris wheel, we jumped on the iconic Wonder Wheel and managed to score a red swinging car all to ourselves. Looking out to the beach below, kids and families splashed and frolicked in the ocean as their body temperatures dropped and they forgot about the heat dome, if only for a few brief moments. High above them, it was quiet and peaceful, even as our car swayed back and forth and we heard screams from Cyclone riders behind us.
After our two rotations, we walked down the crowded beach, past some tiny bikinis on some not-so-tiny bodies, and through crowds of kids under a palm tree spraying water and mist. We took turns dipping in the water while the other kept watch of our shared backpack. It was so hot, I could barely think about anything else but getting under the gentle waves. When it was my turn to immerse myself into the ocean, I dipped under the water and popped back up again like a seal resurfacing for air.
Instantly cooled off and refreshed, I looked at the faces of the people around me. They were in the heat dome, too, and they probably came crawling out of their too-hot-to-stay-in apartments just like me. I waded in the water for only a minute before making my way back to my girl on the sand. I knew the feeling of relief from the heat would be fleeting because when it’s this hot, it's just not possible to keep your cool.
