In Friday’s (7/22) New York Times, Manny Fernandez reports from Wichita Falls, Texas on the effects of the heat wave in several U.S. cities, “The guys who cut the grass at the parks in this north central Texas city, which has endured 30 consecutive days of triple-digit heat, stuff ice packs into their bright orange vests. The manager at the bicycle shop with the broken air-conditioner in Kansas City, Mo., no longer wears socks. The orchestra that performs in Grant Park in Chicago did a perfect rendition of Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C major, perhaps because the musicians were allowed to wear shorts and tank tops. … Ask those who have toiled in the heat this week why—why they put themselves under the sun, often without shade, for hours at a time—and there is usually the same response: It’s their job. … The members of the Grant Park Orchestra in Chicago, which reached 96 by midafternoon, have become a close-knit bunch, playing in pounding rains, tornado scares and the current brutal heat. ‘We’re like the mail people,’ said Mary Stolper, the orchestra’s principal flute.”
Posted July 22, 2011
