Decades ago I suffered a near heat stroke while driving home from Las Vegas. With the temperature rising into three digits, I needed to run my car’s air conditioner but couldn’t because my car was overheating. Up and down the highway, cars were scattered along the shoulder with passengers sweltering in the sun while waiting for their cars to cool down. Back then, there were no cell phones, so those of us in automobile distress had to rely on help from the highway patrol or kind strangers.
Since then, I have done my best to stay the heck out of high temperatures. Steve and I have friends who have moved to the desert. We love them, but not enough to visit them during the heat wave they are experiencing. With that in mind, we say, “Gary and Diane, we’ll see you in the fall.”
At our house during the summer, we work hard to keep our pets and ourselves as cool as we can. We have fans and a window air conditioner in the bedroom and keep that as our little oasis from the heat. I also use a trick that my mom taught me years ago— spray the bed sheets lightly with water when it’s time to go to sleep. By the time it has evaporated, we are usually off to Dreamland.
For folks who really need help cooling down during the summer, the City of Long Beach is allowing the public to use many of its public facilities as cooling centers. These include recreation centers (I have listed the addresses below) and public libraries where residents can sit and enjoy the air conditioning during the normal business hours of the facility.
In some cases, such as during a heat wave, the City may extend cooling center hours at certain locations. When the facilities are open, hours and locations will be posted on the Signal Tribune’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Addresses and times of cooling centers in Long Beach:
El Dorado West Community Center
2800 Studebaker Rd.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm
Silverado Community Center
1545 W. 31st St.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 9pm
Houghton Community Center
6301 Myrtle Ave.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 9pm
McBride Community Center
1550 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 7pm
Cesar Chavez Community Center
401 Golden Ave.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 7pm
Ramona Community Center
3301 E. 65th St.
Monday through Friday from noon to 7pm
Veterans Park Community Center
101 28th St.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm
Wardlow Community Center
3457 Stanbridge Ave.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm
Admiral Kidd Community Center
2125 Santa Fe Ave.
Monday through Friday from noon to 9pm
Bixby Community Center
130 Cherry Ave.
Monday through Friday from 10am to 4pm
Drake Community Center
951 Maine Ave.
Monday through Friday from noon to 9pm
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center
1950 Lemon Ave.
Monday through Friday from noon to 9pm
Long Beach Senior Center
1150 E. 4th St.
Monday through Friday from 9am to 4:30pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm
