When it’s 100 degree weather outside and feels as if someone has turned the heat way up in the streets of Greenpoint/Williamsburg, there is no magical recipe: chances are you will sweat a lot and stop in every café on your way, because walking around town for too long in this heat, is simply not possible!
In the neighborhood, everybody has their own way of dealing with the record high temperatures, but they all agree that the number one rule is to: “Drink a lot of water.”
That’s among Alicia and Maria’s advice: “Stay in the shade and drink a lot of water.” The home attendant and her charge were sitting on a bench in the McCarren Park with a bottle of fresh water in a bag, and moving as little as possible. Maria, 82 could not have left the house this morning if it wasn’t for the warm yet cherished wind that was in the air, said Alicia. “Even if it is hot air, it’s still air!”
Jerry has no choice but to be outside. He is a construction worker and to stay cool he uses the old wet towel trick. “I put it on my head or around my neck, it helps me stay cool and it keeps my nose from bleeding. Apart from that there is not much you can do,” he said, as he was jumping onto his truck.
Apparently there is… Robert considers himself lucky: he is a vegetarian and is convinced that his body stays cooler because he doesn’t eat meat. “Meat has a lot of fat, it gets into your blood cells and I’m sure it makes your body temperature higher,” he explains. Maybe he is less hot than others, but Robert is still very uncomfortable under these temperatures judging by the bandana around his forehead, meant to absorb the sweat rolling from his head. He opted for the “stand still” option: “I got myself a brand new chair for the occasion and during the day I come out to sit in the shade, I force myself to drink a lot of water and count the hours until it gets cooler.”
So there you go: drink a lot and do as little as possible. See, heat waves are not that bad after all…
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