JESSE MURPHY: Some like it hot

It may not be a well-discussed fact, but every father has a sixth sense when it comes to thermostats.

The second that kid is born, dads have the ability to tell if someone in the house changes the settings, even if it is just one degree, and even if you're not at home.

Though I would probably make a different choice of super power, I'll take it.

While working last weekend, my spidey-sense tingled. I called the wife.

After some casual conversation, I asked what her and the kids were up to.

"We just got done playing outside," she said. "I closed up the windows and turned the AC on, we're about to eat lunch."

Boom. Called it. And it was a mere 72 degrees outside.

Not a big deal, but I reiterated the weather conditions, pointing out that the temperature outside is already colder than we usually keep our house during the hottest summer days.

New energy-efficient windows only go so far, and with rising costs of utilities, being uncomfortably chilly during the summer is a luxury we can't afford even if I enjoyed shivering in the summer.

Everyone is different, with their own opinions and their own comfort levels.

Personally, I hate being cold. I despise winter. The idea of ice and snow makes me cringe.

Summer is my time to get warm, building up some residual heat to get me through the bitter-cold, windy Maryville winters.

The world seems to be filled with two different camps when it comes to the temperature issues.

Some like the long hot summers, some like being layered up and covered with blankets. And that's OK.

But why do we constantly crave the opposite of what we have?

We spend the winter crowded around space heaters and fireplaces, or with the furnace cranked.

Then we finally get warm weather, and what do we do? Crank up the air conditioner.

Does this make sense to anyone? Our climate here is temperate enough that we could spend most of the year without running heat or AC.

Yet we spend money and use valuable resources to avoid being slightly out of our own comfort zone.

I may be a little radical by saying this, but shouldn't we be good with what nature gives us?

The number of days in which the AC needs to be cranked is limited, mostly to late summer.

Winter is a slightly different story, I've heard of something called frostbite, and I know frozen pipes are a nightmare.

The difference is that heating up the house in winter is self-preservation. Cooling the house in summer is strictly for comfort.

The flip-flop between the two seems like a "grass is greener" scenario to me.

I can't see how it's so hard to be satisfied with what we have.

There's an old adage, if you don't like the weather in Missouri, wait until tomorrow.

That's the way it is here, get used to it or move.

It really does not get unbearably hot, unless you're trapped in a car (Not funny, I know, but true).

My advice for those quick to crank up the AC as soon as the temperature gets above 70 is to use the same layer method from winter.

Think about it, during the hot summer days if everyone starts the day with a coat over a long sleeve shirt over short sleeves, shedding layers through the day, by afternoon we would all be comfortable.

Maybe I'm the crazy one, but bring on the heat! Bring on the sweat and humidity. Listen for the ice cream man, turn the fan on, stop complaining, and don't touch my thermostat!

Jesse Murphy is a reporter for the Maryville Daily Forum. He can be reached at jmurphy@maryvilledailyforum.com.