The wonderful mornings of old-time, and modern Phoenix

One of the most common questions that I get about old-time Phoenix is "how did they live without air conditioning?" And I mean even before swamp coolers, before fans, before electricity. Phoenix has been there since 1870! It boggles people's minds, and I really do have the answer: mornings in the desert.

If you're like most of the people I've ever known, the time right after sunrise simply doesn't exist for you. I call these people my "10-to-2s", which means that they're at their best between 10 am and 2 am. They're the people who were awake when the best bands started playing, and were glassy-eyed at work until they had a chance to wake up, at about ten. And I understand.

Like most teenagers, I loved to sleep in, and that continued through my thirties. But in my forties, when I started working a different schedule, things changed for me and I saw something that had been invisible to me for many years - morning in the desert. If you already know, you're smiling.

Today is September 5th, 2020, and the forecast high will be over 110 degrees. But I won't be out in it. I was out at sunrise, when the desert air has cooled, and I'm back home now, at my computer, and it's not even 9 am. I do know some 10-to-2s who try to get out in the evening, but in the summer even that time is pretty miserable. That's how the desert works - when the sun goes down the process of cooling begins, but it really isn't at its coolest 'til the wee hours. I especially like dawn.

When I time-travel in my imagination to old-time Phoenix, I see a flurry of activity in the mornings. Then the people go home for a siesta (nap) and stay out of the burning sun until the next morning if they can. When the sun rises, life begins again. Old-time Phoenix wouldn't have been a good place for 10-to-2s!

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