Notes From My Knapsack 7-23-06
Jeff Gill

With Summer Set On High

Heat waves are no laughing matter, even for the sun worshipers among us who long for Florida or Arizona or the Riviera.
Some years ago a heat wave across the Northern Hemisphere led to hundreds of deaths in Chicago and tens of thousands in France, both pretty civilized places.
Even when the power doesn't go out, for those who dislike air conditioning, can't afford to run it, or just the bewildered and confused can get caught in a vicious cycle of heat, dehydraytion, and dizziness leading to unconsciousness and death.
This is a good time to get to know your neighbors if you haven't already, throw a late evening picnic or block party, and call relatives who are getting on a bit in years.
Lightning is more likely to strike you than the Powerball, and tornados are dramatic but quite infrequent, especially so far this summer. But people die in central Ohio every summer from heat stroke and related issues, often right in their living rooms . . . talk about your preventable causes of death!
Drink, drink, drink, y'all, and no, not that stuff. All year 'round Americans tend to go about in a general state of dehydration, with impairments from memory loss to slower reflexes to unnecessary discomfort. Soda pop, even in the MegaGulpSlurpCanister size, can help keep you on the down side of fluid balance in your body. Water is great, tap water just fine, but keep on drinking it through the day.
Eating a good quantity of fruits and vegetables has a good influence in making your body want fluid rather than feel falsely filled, so diet can affect this internal sense as well. Plus drinking water supresses your appetite naturally, leading to weight loss . . . it's all good.
As you may be able to tell, I just got back from directing a week of church camp, where the other gospel we preached was "drink water!" Counselors and kids alike, with the steady rains we experienced, had to be reminded frequently, and still the visits to the health officer came for headaches and tummy aches and just plain all body icks that tended to vanish with the application of 2000 ml of H2O between the teeth.
I know I got tedious on the subject at camp, and why should i not be tedious for you folks? As Spiderman says, with great heat comes great responsibility. Or something like that -- I feel tired and confused, and need to go get a drink.
I'll be right back!

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and supply preacher around central Ohio; share a summer tip with him at disciple@voyager.net.