People in the Heat

They do weird things. They lose all concern with how they look. With the exception of high school kids who insist on wearing wool ski caps (!) because they look hip. Yeah, shorts and a sweaty face is so hot.

Everyone else, though, doesn't care. Women who wouldn't dream of usually being seen in shorts put them on, damn the strerch marks, and go to the grocery store. Unfortunately we're required at the shelter to wear long pants and closed toe shoes so no shorts and flip-flops for me. I look positively Muslim in my jeans and heavy cotton volunteer t-shirt. Everyone else out today had tank tops and cargo shorts. Old ladies in muu-muus. Old guys in Bermuda shorts. Wonderfully ugly hula shirts.

See the other side effect of not being used to living in this heat is not having the wardrobe for it. I own exactly one pair of shorts and they don't fit. I'll wear them inside, but not outside. And since I have a dress code where I "work" I'm dressing today exactly the way I did last winter. (OK, minus the sweatshirt.) But the rest of the Bay Area looks really, really funny.

I've seen more flabby white legs today than I can count. I've seen clothing that hasn't been out of the closet in five years. Tank tops featuring bands that broke up a decade ago. Shorts that don't fit the wearer because they last time they wore them they were 15 pounds lighter. (The wearer, not the shorts.)

At the moment I'm wearing light PJ bottoms and one of Husband's t-shirts. It's 86 in here but is supposed to cool down tonight and be much cooler tomorrow. But I'll be wearing tomorrow what I wore today. Volunteering is a great way to not worry about what you're going to wear...