Thought for Food

The Lovin’ Spoonful, “Summer in the City” // via tuneage

Programming note: I’m not posting this ‘cause we’re in the middle of a heatwave. I’m posting it because it’s an awesome song.

And about that: yeah, whatever, it’s hot. It’s also July.

CajunBoy’s post yesterday sparked a conversation between me and M. Here’s something you need to understand about my boyfriend: it’s not enough that he was born and raised in the West Village. It’s not enough that he calls the greatest city in the world his hometown. No. NYC has to be better or more extreme in everything, forever and ever amen.

For example. Yesterday I said: “Below the Mason-Dixon line it’s this hot all summer long and it’s not a big news story.” He said: “Well I’m not convinced that the real heat index is as high there. When it’s hot here it’s really hot.” Me: “What?! Boy, you don’t know what you’re talkin’ bout. Just wait ‘til you get to New Orleans [for Tails of the Cocktail later this month] and then talk to me.”

And our conversation continued like that for some time until we lighted on the topic of deep, bone-rattling winter, a topic I consider myself something of an expert in.

He made the point that, like heat, cold is relative. “When it’s really cold in Minnesota, it’s different than when it is here. You go from your heated house to your heated garage to your heated car….”

I gave him the side-eye. I silently counted down from ten. And then I said, as calmly as I could, “Well I don’t know these people with heated garages, and my car didn’t heat itself. And usually you have to shovel to get your garage, and shovel to get your car out of it, and —”

“I had to shovel, too! You’ve seen our house!” (Referring to the West 12th townhouse where he grew up — with maybe, um, 25 feet of sidewalk? Whereas since I was 14 my family has lived on a big corner lot near a university with plenty of foot traffic. Snow removal is an hour-plus-grind that often has to be repeated more than once a day.)

I had to laugh. “You won’t even give the Minnesota girl snow-shoveling?!”

Jesus christ, man. It’s ALL WE HAVE.