It’s lunch hour on Wednesday in Washington, but the patio tables at restaurants in the heart of the downtown business district are deserted. An early summer heat wave — with temperatures that will top out in the high 90s — has driven everyone inside.
A bright red Coca-Cola truck tours the near-empty streets. Fritz Duval hops out of his truck, which has a broken air conditioner.
The heat is getting to Duval — so much so that he says he’s in hell.
“We’ve talked to Satan before in the truck,” he jokes.
He points out his coworker.
“That’s Steve — he wishes he was wearing shorts.”
Both men work eight to nine hours a day outdoors, delivering vending machines. They drink Arizona Ice Tea to cope with the heat.
That’s the key, says D.C. Water employee Bruce Gathers: staying hydrated. He and his coworkers are repairing the water meter inside a manhole.
“You gotta make sure you got plenty of water,” Gathers says. “Whenever you can get in shade, you get in shade. Standing out in the sun — it’s brutal.”
But the heat doesn’t bother a 97-year-old Mary, who lives in a retirement home in the District and hiked five blocks Wednesday with the aid of a walker to get to her dentist appointment.
“People are getting to be sissies. That’s my opinion. If I can do it at 97, walk five blocks, then …”
She pauses for rest in her walk down Vermont Avenue.
“There’s a breeze on the corners here,” she says.
Randy Dalton, a repairman for RJH Air Conditioning and Refrigerator Service, says he has seen far more calls for repairs over the past few days.
Business is good for ice cream shops, as well. Emily Garber, who works downtown, stops for a smoothie before going back to work Wednesday.
“I ate four flavors of sorbet in one day because it was so hot this weekend,” she says.
Regina Hogan, who works in an air-conditioned office on K Street, dashes inside to the cool air after grabbing lunch.
“I think this is going to be the year of excessive snow and heat,” she said. “It’s crazy. You can’t even breathe out here.”
Expect more of the same for Thursday. The forecast high temperature is 97 degrees.
