There was no heating in the winter, and certainly no AC in the summer.
When I was twelve years old Uncle Pete moved into the workshed in the backyard. I remember the day so vividly, because it seemed terribly strange to me. Pete needed a place to stay after he came away from overseas, and my parents offered him the junky old shed. Later I would find out that he had not been overseas, he had been in jail, and my folks wanted to help him but didn’t want him living in the house with us. Uncle Pete seemed very happy to be living in the shed, and ran some extension cords out from the house so he could have lights and air conditioning. Even at the time I was a little shocked that anyone could live like that, because eve with power and AC it was still an old workshed with a cement floor and no insulation in the walls. Uncle Pete then explained to me about the jail he had been in, and how they didn’t have climate control for the prisoners at all. There was no heating in the winter, and certainly no AC in the summer. They didn’t even have proper ventilation, because making the air ducts too big would pose a security risk for potential escapees. He told me that although the shed was small, it was his and he could come and go as he pleased, and with the AC unit in there it was more comfort than he had felt in years. For Uncle Pete it was the simple things that made life great, so as long as he had AC he was happy.
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