From the Flame to the Fire

This last few weeks in Portland have been scorching hot. Well, for Portland it's been hot, well into the 90's. Luckily I was out of town last week at a conference in Seattle, where it was a bit cooler, while people in Portland were boiling through temperatures in the high 90's. This week has been pretty hot too. My third floor apartment, without air conditioning, has been sweltering. I sit on the couch, sweating as if I am in the full sun, sticking to my couch. It has been a humbling experience. Air conditioning....a simple thing that can be something that defines where you fall in the income standings. This is the first time in more than twenty years that I have not had air conditioning. The eighteen years of my marriage and the time before involved air conditioning. Previous to being married, I didn't have it, but I was also a single parent living near my parents so my daughter could go to an acceptable school. I was spending sixty-percent of my income to make it w