Air Conditioning
1967
Pundits are preoccupied tonight in assessing the significance of the Great Summit Meeting at Glassboro N.J. The Once Over Lightly columnist practices his special brand of Myopia, peering at the pieces instead of the whole. Not recommended for general use but productive of the harvest of light touches. To wit: Did you catch the fact that for the luncheon at Glassboro College today they brought up the White House China. This was no doubt done for two reasons: (a) any host likes to impress; only natural, and (b) China had to get in on the act somehow and this is about as far as either of the parties was willing to go in that direction.
The other matter which caught the fancy was the quick rig of air conditioning. Until today Hollybush House was susceptible to the rise and fall of the thermometer. And it is index to the degree to which men of state have become effete. Was Ghengis Khan so fastidious when negotiating with the Mongols? Burning sands of desert or frigid ice of mountain top was all one with Ghengis. Did Cleopatra stand on the manner of her going when she arranged rendezvous on the Nile? Not Cleo. Perhaps a Nubian slave complete with willowy palm frond but no more. And even that was probably only so that her hair-do would not be affected by the humid air. A Napoleon or a Teddy Roosevelt would probably have settled for the strips of fly paper and a ceiling oscillator. Air conditioning, forsooth!
This is totally improper, I know, as well as irrelevant and immaterial but as a householder I can’t help wondering what happens to the air conditioning now. Does it stay at Hollybush? And who pays for it?
If it proves to be incidental loot to the College at Glassboro is Princeton entitled to equal clime? And if that’s the way it works I’d like to get word to the President (Johnson) by first available communication. If you’re planning any more hastily arranged summits, my house can be had. Only one condition: provision will have to be made for my nine year old Amy to remain in the room. Whenever her mother and I want to discuss weighty matters of state we can’t get her out. But the matter presents no real difficulty. Amy has come by card games recently and all it will take is to let her play solitaire on the rug or offer her a game of Fish with Dean Rusk. (Secretary of State)
P.S. My wife makes borscht.