The cold season is finally here. It was only a couple of weeks ago that we were experiencing 90-degree days here in Macon. Most people were complaining about the delay in cooler weather. Well, no more complaints now. Yesterday, the winds from the north moved into Georgia, and about 3 o’clock this morning, the temperature dropped to 37 degrees. That should satisfy everyone that ought to be living at the North Pole and working for Santa. I, for one, am waiting for an early spring, already.

When I hear the furnace in my home come on, I feel very thankful that progress in the HVAC industry in my lifetime now allows me to just go to a thermostat and push a button or two and get warm. It brings up memories of my childhood duties in the winter when I lived in North Mississippi. I was 9 years old in Oxford, living in an old 2 story house that had 12-foot-high ceilings. Our only form of heating was a pot-bellied stove in the middle of the kitchen/sleeping quarters. That was fired with lump coal, and it was my chore to empty the ashes daily and replace the supply with a fresh skuttle full. Again, I was happy when spring arrived.

I moved with my family to Macon that spring and felt I had moved to heaven: we had gas unvented space heaters in each room. Since then, the experiences have included gas floor furnaces (it doesn’t take too long to learn not to step on the grate barefooted), heat pumps, and more efficient gas systems.

I am sure that whatever your preference in weather is, and the type of heating system you prefer, when you get cold, you are thankful to have the convenience of getting warm in an easy way.

Thanksgiving is almost here, and Christmas is not far behind. Enjoy them both and look forward to nothing but great happenings for you and yours in the future. We’ll talk again next month.