TX -MI Mad Dogs and Michiganganders

The native inhabitants of tropical countries which comprised the colonial British Empire had an expression that “only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” The British had a disregard for the heat and radiation of the sun wherever they were throughout the world. They went about their activities regardless of the climate and perhaps their can-do attitude explains why the British Empire was so successful for so long.

This past Saturday I was acting like a mad dog and Englishman spending five hours working about the yard during the midday sun with temperatures in the high nineties. I was probably the only individual in our subdivision working on their yard and I’m sure my neighbors were thinking this person from Michigan was insane. I had lots of sunscreen plus my hat but needless to say I did perspire although I drank a lot of water. Later in the evening, for the first time in my life the fingers on my hands were actually cramping up from probably from loss of fluids. So I bought some Gatorade and ate some bananas to raise my potassium levels up and I was back to normal.

It’s a good thing the British didn’t have Gatorade in the 18th century, they may have conquered the whole world.

[Image credit: http://www.freeclipartnow.com/nature/weather/sun/]