Climate Controlled - April 28 2021

 

Climate Controlled

April 28 2021

Snow in July.

A small island

with a northern exposure

a short kayak away.

In a cave-like opening, just above the lake,

where cold water

lapped at the shore.

Superior

which is frigid all year,

only dashing in for a swim

in the sun-warmed shallows

on a sweltering summer day.

We paddled our kayaks close,

and could see remnants of snow

in the cool gloomy grotto.

The darkness

of the constant earth,

the deep sweet-water lake.

It was hot,

but a bit of winter

had managed to persist

in this one sheltered spot.

I know that cold is the absence of heat

and not a thing in itself.

But I could still feel the temperature

suddenly drop,

the cold radiating off

as if opening a freezer door.

Or how it felt as kids

stepping out of the blistering heat

into the theatre's cool darkness.

With the popcorn smell

and sticky floor

and kids talking back to the screen

at the weekend matinee.

Where you could sit all day

as the movie played

over and over again,

even though

we were supposed to exit the place.

In the hot doldrums of summer

a sanctuary

of climate-controlled air,

where the light was low

and the reels rolled

and the teenaged usher slept.

They didn't advertise “Air Conditioning”. Instead, the terminology was “Air Cooled” or “Climate Controlled.” (Now, of course, this wouldn't bear mentioning. It's universally assumed.) Which may have been more appropriate. Because entering into that cool dark sanctuary was like entering into another world, one with not only its own weather, but its own micro-climate!

Exiting, though, was a whole other thing: instead of sweet relief, it was instant headache opening the door to the blinding sun and suffocating heat.

This was well over 20 years ago. Caribou Island (I think), in Thunder Bay harbour. It was just Emir Vidjen and me, paddling out together. We were white water guys, but would occasionally “slum” and do some flat water paddling!

The theatre was the Glendale in north Toronto, and I distinctly recall that headache on re-entering the world! I'm sure that theatre has been gone for more years than I care to think about. . . .After writing this, I Googled “old movie theatres”, looking for a generic image. Then I figured I might as well put in “Glendale movie theatre”, and Google came up with the photo that accompanies this: the actual Glendale theatre on Avenue Rd. in Toronto that I remember.

I have no idea what made this image come to me today. Perhaps it's because while it's the first warm day of spring, there are still remnants of snow persisting in places under the trees.