The city was on a slow broil. Even the light breeze coming in from the ocean was not helping to alleviate the heat. It waved the drooping flowers in the curbside planters and the hanging baskets on the streetlights, it carried the tinge of brine from the ocean, it was just enough to wave a lock of hair here and there, but it still felt like air wafting from an oven.
Tropic's schedules were in full effect. Businesses and enterprises started their work at seven in the morning, stopping at eleven and resuming at three in the afternoon until seven in the evening. A mandatory four-hour rest period; siesta time. Only air-conditioned supermarkets remained open during the four hours of the midday rest period, running on skeleton crews to provide, mainly, cool drinks and ice to the few people who were out and about in the middle of the day. An occasional diner or restaurant ran on minimal crew during the midday hours for the same reason. Most other enterprises were simply closed, their workers gathered in air-conditioned rooms with comfortable sofas, loungers and even beds, their entrance doors bearing signs that did not say "Sorry, we're closed" but "We're napping; you should be too".
Traffic was minimal. Buses, trams and trains ran only once per hour during the midday rest period. Cars were barely seen driving around. Pavements were all but deserted. The buzzing bustle of the energetic harbor city of Sol City was at a standstill. The noise of the harbor had died down to just the sound of the water; not even a cry of seagulls was heard. The only other sound was a steady, quiet humming coming from warehouses and refrigerated storage buildings. Cranes were sitting motionless. Container ships lay docked silently. Vehicles were parked under shelters or in shady areas with screens in the windshields and rear windows. Large open areas covered in concrete, asphalt or even cobbles lay steaming in the bright sunlight.
It was standard protocol. It was part of the culture. From the north coast to the south coast, from the east coast to the west coast; it was the same everywhere. June, July, and August had the entire country of Minnaluna running on the adjusted hours of a tropic schedule. Shops and businesses closed, their workers lounging or napping in minimal clothing or even none at all. Dedicated siesta parlors offering lounge areas and beds in cool 72F-degree rooms - which was cool compared to the peak temperatures outside, and eased the shock of the temperature difference when stepping back outside when the pace of life picked back up after 3PM. Total strangers socializing in the cooled lounge areas, even sharing rooms or beds. All radio stations playing Gary Stadler fairy music between noon and 1PM to lull the country to sleep.
Summer in Minnaluna. A hot, quiet, sleepy affair.
