When One's Brain is Not in Gear

I have to tell you readers this little story: Even though Winter Park is at an altitude of 9000 feet, it had been rather warm during the day. It seems that our motel is the only one in town that has a/c in the rooms, and I had turned it on high cool when we checked in. When we returned to our room last night, the a/c never kicked on. I just knew that I would be too hot to sleep. So, I called the front desk to inquire about the a/c and what I could do to get some cool air. He (the owner) came to our room.

This very nice man explained to me that the thermostat was inside the a/c and would sense that the temperature outside was only 49 degrees; therefore it would not come on. So how were we to cool the room? When he suggested that I could open the window for cool air, I was concerned about our privacy since we were on the ground floor. "Well," he said, "you could wait to open your curtain after the lights are out, or you can turn the fan on which will also draw the cool air in." I thanked him very politely as he left.

Now let's think this through. Winter Park is at 9000 feet. We have been in the mountains many times. Winter Park is at 9000 feet! We have stayed in other mountain motels often enough that had no a/c. Winter Park is at 9000 FEET! Most a/c units have a 'fan' setting on them. WINTER PARK IS AT 9000 FEET! I felt a complete fool. And, yes, we opened the window, turned on the fan and slept very comfortably.