The other day, I was leaving our radio show on 102.5 The Game because we had a remote at the Tennessee Titans complex. As I checked my watch, I saw that the temperature at 11:15 A.M. was already 97 degrees and was going to climb over 100. Parked next to me were the parents of Fox 17 sports reporter Jill Jelnick, who does a great job covering sports in Nashville. We made small talk and I said to her parents, “I don’t care how hot it gets, I will never turn my air conditioning on. Never.”
Jill’s mom popped right up and pointed at her husband. “You two. You two are just alike, He won’t turn the air on either.” We all laughed and he said, “I will turn it on here and there, especially if we are on a long road trip, but other than that, no.”
I laughed again and said, “My first car didn’t have A/C so I grew up without and just kind of kept it that way.” Jill’s dad laughed and remarked that his cars growing up, also had no air conditioning. My car was a 1981 Datsun 310 GX and it was the best and worst car of all time. I don’t ever remember changing the oil in it and it was pretty indestructible. It also only had two gears. First and fourth, but that is for another story.
When you grow up without A/C in the car, it really becomes an afterthought in so many ways. I now drive a Buick Encore that I got last August and I have not turned the A/C on one time in there. I literally don’t think about it and now knowing that there are others out there that have the same feeling, I find that outstanding.
Now if I am riding with you and you want to run your A/C, that is fine but for me if you don’t, no big deal. I would take friends around when I had a car that had air conditioning and still wouldn’t use it. I would say the phrase that I have probably uttered a million times, “Just roll the window down. The flow through will keep you cool.” Does it? No idea but it sure sounds fantastic.
A friend once said I was being cheap not using the air and again, if you didn’t use it much growing up, I tend to forget about it. Fresh air is the backbone of life and if you run the A/C all the time, you will miss that.
I know that makes no sense but if you do get hot, just roll the window down.