Hot enough for ya…? Pools and water features help folks stay cool when the thermometer spikes upward …
Even the temperature sign at SE 122nd Ave. on Division St. Crossing seemed to scream, “It’s TOO HOT!”
Story and photo by David F. Ashton
Looking up, the Division Station tower in the Midway Business Association district, the sign indicated 106 degrees.
So, how hot was it? Most people with whom we spoke said, “Way too hot!”
“It’s sweltering out here,” commented Mary Jenkins, as she crossed SE Division St. at 122nd Avenue. “You can feel the heat coming up from the pavement as well as down from the sun.”
Four-year-old Chance McKiney found a way to beat the summer heat. He’s using the new “water feature” at Raymond Park, hidden away in the Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood.
George Furman, noting the arrival of an unexpected cloud cover, told us, “It’s the humidity. It makes the heat seem hotter.” He was on the way to catch a bus.
A worker at Pizza Roma in Woodstock said, “The air conditioning must be working overtime. It’s pretty cool in the restaurant, but it is really hot back here by the pizza ovens.”
Being out and about, we noticed the temperature difference as we went from an air-conditioned car out into the heat ‚Äì then into an air-conditioned building. It was cool inside Rhino Digital Graphics at SE 12th Ave. and Division Street. The one-minute journey from their offices back to our car was wilting. We cooled off as we drove out to Lents, to check the heat at Quality Cage Company on SE 111th Ave., north of Foster Rd. This manufacturing company, housed in a steel building, was heating up. “We keep drinking lots of water,” said QCC’s president, Guy Cone, as he wrapped another Chinchilla Mansion for shipping. “We’ve got air conditioning at home. I can’t hardly wait.”
For us here at East PDX News, things aren’t so bad. Our office is in a daylight basement; a great air conditioner keeps it cool and delilghtful while producing and posting news stories for you!
Be of good cheer ‚Äì out “summer” is half over! Soon, we’ll be able to complain about the overcast skies and drizzle.
© 2006 David F. Ashton ~ East PDX News
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