Today was a beach day; at least a perfect day to walk on the boardwalk at Coney Island, or Rockaway, or Long Beach. It certainly was an ideal day to go to the Chelsea or Christopher St. piers, or to lay out at Sheep Meadow. The problem is, it’s October in NYC. I was very happy, except that my air-conditioner has to run later in the year than it ever has, which means a higher-than-usual Con Ed bill for the month of October.

We all know that the polar bears and penguins are not amused. But let’s not forget all those poor souls in office buildings where the A/C is set to go on in May and off by the end of September. And let’s also think of the students stuck in thousands of classrooms in the metropolitan area with no air-conditioning. It’s no fun trying to concentrate in an over-crowded classroom, while suffering through summer temperatures. And it is even more challenging for the teachers, who are trying to motivate students under those conditions.

All this makes me wonder what the winter will be like.