Civics lesson: Go to the A/C
Steve Martaindale

Steve Martaindale is a self-syndicated columnist. Write him at penmanmail-steve@yahoo. com.

A strange thing happened at the city council meeting last week.

Actually, a couple of strange things, the first being that the regular meeting was finished in about an hour, where it normally takes at least two hours.

Council then went into executive session to talk about retaining the municipal judge, whose two-year appointment will expire in a few months. The next strange thing was that, after the council members went into their hiding place for their closed meeting, people hung around in the chambers.

Several people.

At first, I simply thought they were visiting. Maybe the meeting got over so early that they just didn't know what to do. But they continued waiting ... every one of them ... all 2 1/2 hours.

That's when I figured out there may be more to it. Sure, maybe they are big supporters of Judge Baker, but I think they were taking advantage of the free air conditioning.

When Leah and I first married, we lived in a little trailer that was not air-conditioned and did not have enough windows. We called it our little Dutch oven.

To combat the heat, we often visited the Gibson's store (a note to any younger readers: There were actually other stores before Wal-Mart drove the rest of the world out of business) in the evening, walking up and down its air-conditioned aisles until its 9 p.m. closing time.

With the heat of summer now upon us, and everyone trying to pinch pennies due to rising consumer prices, it occurred to me that these fellows at city hall had a good idea.

There are all kinds of places where we can soak up free cool air. This could be particularly useful to someone who is home most of the time.

Before the sun heats things up too much, put together a sack lunch, turn the AC off or down to minimum and hit the town.

A key to making this cost-effective is to minimize driving, so you want to pick spots where you can hang out at least half of the day. It might also help if you do not carry credit cards and only take as much cash as you would really need, if any at all.

An especially interesting place to spend a day is the courthouse. The dramas that play out inside the various court rooms would keep you from missing your afternoon soap operas.

It becomes increasingly poignant when you are reminded that it is real life. Sure, there is plenty of "acting" going on as attorneys try to sway a jury's mindset, but it is all real. Unlike those TV court shows, no network steps up to pay the tab.

The courts often won't keep you cool long past business hours, but there often will be a selection of public meetings. Cities host a broad variety of boards and commissions that meet regularly and always in air conditioning. These may not be quite as entertaining, but you will find yourself increasingly interested as you figure out that they keep talking about spending your money.

The evening fall-back plan would be a department store or mall, though temptations to spend money there are sometimes too strong.

Other options through the day include large office buildings, hospitals, college student union buildings and, of course, libraries.

Libraries are great because they are also relaxing and you are surrounded by free entertainment.

Finally, like the guys at city hall, you may soon meet a few folks and you can plan to sit together at tomorrow's forgery trial.