A Need for a Warner Climate

Panama is my birth place. Although I have not been there since 1936, only 18 months old at the time, there stirs in me a wish to be warm. Of course, everyone wishes to be warm, even Eskimos. But I want more than the warmth of a fire or a seal skin parka, I want to be in warm air under swaying palm trees in a southern sun. I do not mean a southern sun like Alabama or some such place, I mean the tropics.

Back during the years of the war in Viet Nam I was assigned there for two one year tours. Compared to the military deployments of the current situation, two years seems hardly long enough, but back then it was. My recollections of being in Viet Nam are that I liked the climate, most of the time. There were times when it was too wet and some times too hot and dry, but most of the time I like it. Often I have thought about going back there to see if I still would like being in that tropical climate. One time I went to Singapore and got drenching wet. That was not too bad until I got into an air conditioned bus and nearly turned into an icicle. Another time, in Bangkok, Thailand, this time I stepped out the hotel into a blazing heat and found a cab with air conditioning; that was good.

Looking our of my window right now there is something like a foot of snow or more, with drifts probably two feet or higher. As I look out the window and feel the cold air around my feet I am reminded of living in Alaska, pre Sarah Palin, for three years. Living in Alaska was a fun experience, and I spent many days out in the deep snow and sub zero temperatures, but I cannot say I truly enjoyed it. However, I did all that, but I was in my late twenties and early thirties. Roughing it in the wilds of the north country was an adventure. These days an adventure is living on the French Riviera watching the bathers on the beaches where wearing complete bathing outfits are optional.

Snow scenes can be beautiful. The white of the snow, in certain lights, can have a cold blue hue to it. The sweep of the drifts against trees sleeping for the winter adds to the composition, but they are pictures. Those pictures may give you a chill but they are pictures one can view in the comfort of a centrally heated home.

Right now the need to relocate to a warmer climate. Often the notion has hit me that I could live in New Zealand when it is winter in the northern hemisphere and back in the U.S. when it is summer here. That arrangement, however, requires money. The only way to finance such an arrangement is to solicit donations. I am a worthy charity, but the donor cannot take it as a deduction, but still. Would you consider helping me find a way of avoiding the cold and snow?