1) Why is it that so many pieces that deal with the "romance" of low-tech home conditions (and that look back fondly to the "good old days") are usually written by men? It's rare you find female writers maundering on about how wonderful it was to be putting up several beds' worth of heavy fresh-washed sheets on the line in 90+ weather. Or the joys of having to dust upstairs rooms in that same kind of heat.

2) My mother grew up in West Virginia coal-mining camps, where she played in creeks; picked berries, etc. But she was never so happy as when she and my dad got their first air conditioner. :)

3) The author lives in _Manhattan_ and doesn't want AC?!? He's gotta be kidding--just the heat coming off the street is enough to bake you; forget the smell that the heat and humidity traps at street-level. Yo, Salon, you really need to solicit a rebuttal from his wife on this subject--betcha you'd get a million hits....

4) Our local library has an exhibit of summer photos taken around town in the 1920's--the days of hammocks, lemonade, and kids running barefoot. To a person, the folks in said pix are buttoned up to the gills in stiff clothes and either look uniformly grim or have obviously-fake small smiles. One suspects they would have wanted to "sever the bond with nature" as often as possible...

...it doesn't have to be an either-or proposition. When we have 70-degree low-humidity nights around here, we shut off the AC and open the windows. And I've got a hammock in the backyard, where I head with book and iced tea when it's sunny. (Because rope hammocks are essentially open-air, being in one seems to drop your body temperature a good five degrees or so even if you aren't actively swinging in it.)

>I think the real reason that Cosby hasn't been put on full blast is because as you probably know, he, and especially his wonderful wife Camille, have been long involved in promoting educational issues in the community. So, his recent outbursts are kind of taken more gently as an elder gone off the rails rather than the bleatings of a craven opportunist like say, Armstrong Williams or Clarence Thomas.<

The Cosbys are consistent supporters of HBCUs (historically-black colleges/universities) and have contributed tons of money to Morehouse/Spellman alone. Unfortunately...

>The main problem for Cosby is that he's a hypocrite.<

As well, he doesn't see that 1) the economic supports/community that helped him and his neighbors back in Philly when he was poor--such as blue-collar jobs--are long gone from the 'hood; 2) these days, waiting until kids are ready for college to help them is waiting 'till its way too late. If Cosby really was in tune with the black community, he would do what Magic Johnson has done: start businesses in the inner city that enable people to get work, make money, invest in the community, and have something to strive _with_.

And it's fucking ridiculous to claim that black folks' morals is the major reason they aren't "worthy" enough to climb out of poverty. No one _ever_ gets on the values of rich white people when folks like Paris Hilton act out--or executives like Ken Lay steal people blind. No one ever says that the wealthy white community needs to "take stock" and become perfect moral exemplars to deserve any kind of respect or help--even though a study has shown that extremely-wealthy kids and extremely-poor kids have amazingly similar psychological problems and emotional deprivation. But black people have always been expected to pay the "black tax" (be ninety times better than any white person), and that includes being "moral" enough so that folks like DurianJoe and healthyskeptic will feel they are almost human enough to help.

>One suspects that you're too proud to accept what male tradition tells you is a "handout." Time to get outside your own head and find out whether your wife shares your nostalgia...<

...or find yourself the next subject of Cary Tennis' column when your wife gets fed up and writes in. If'n I were Mrs. Broudy, I would have done an end-run around DH already and gotten that AC from my dad. And DH could then sleep up on the roof, since he's such a nostalgia buff...

>Of course a few things should be noted...<

...among them the fact that lake houses and beach places are beyond the reach of anyone not making seriously big money. I wish that was an accessible solution for everyone, but it ain't. Hell, most folks are lucky if they can afford a vacation near a lake or ocean. Or air conditioning to begin with...