One of old-school horror writer H.P. Lovecraft’s most famous short pieces was “Cool Air” from 1928.
The plot was simple enough: A “dead” doctor has found a way to remain alive. The only catch is he must remain in cool air, and use a primitive refrigeration machine to chill his apartment.
Lovecraft devised an especially gruesome ending for this story. But people in the Capital Region may be shivering enough this fall and winter, without Howard’s help.
High energy prices will mean low thermostats in many living rooms. And homeowners who heat with oil are in an especially tough spot, because barrels of crude have been over $100 for much of the year. Prices for both gasoline and home heating fuel are in the $3.50, $3.60 and $3.70 range right now.
Most of us have accepted the gasoline hardships. We don’t like the $35 and $40 fill-ups, but if we want to drive to work, the supermarket and the movies, we have to have our cars.
Heating oil, we might have a little more control over. And because I appreciate a chilly house, my newly-rebuilt Utica boiler in the basement will be on coffee break until November. Maybe early December.
In winters past, I have joshed some co-workers I never turn on the heat until I can see my breath inside the house. Or, I don’t need radiators until I have to scrape frost off the television screen. My brother Tim used to say he could build a snowman in the brisk living room, and he’d stick around all winter. The snowman that is, not my brother.
This year will be tricky. I usually buy all my heating oil in advance, and send a $2,000 check to one of our local suppliers. The pile of loot generally guarantees a couple nickels or dimes knocked off the regular price. But this year ... I’m watching and waiting.
This season, my supplier is charging $200 to “lock-in” at one guaranteed price. Let’s say that lock-in is $4.60 per gallon. If the price goes down, the supplier gives me the lower price; if oil goes sky high, let’s say $5.60, I am still locked in at the $4.60 price.
I’m just not crazy about the $200 fee. In a way, it’s kind of like making a bet at Saratoga Race Course. I’m figuring the $200 will protect me against that $5.60 price. While people are bleeding that dough, I’ll be kicking it in the Caribbean-style warmth of my living room, glad for the $4.60-per-gallon bargain.
But what if I’m betting against skyrocketing prices? What if they remain around the $3.60-per-gallon mark, the number big trucks are pumping now? Yeah, I get the lower price; but I risked — and lost — $200 for the privilege.
Decisions, decisions. Should I buy all my oil at once, grab a price I can live with and conclude the waiting, watching and worrying? Or should I hold my breath and hold my money, ordering and paying for fuel as I need it through the winter?
Had my brother tossed me a few worthwhile tips on Saratoga horses this summer, I’d wouldn’t be in this spot to begin with. But the only advice I get from him is about snowmen in my living room.
My fireplace is ready to go. I’ve got 10 blankets for my bed. A space heater will warm up the master bedroom. Sweaters and sweatshirts will provide more personal heat. I guess I’ll light a few candles.
Wish I could tell you how this story will end. I’d hate to wind up like Jack Nicholson did at the finish of “The Shining,” frozen and frosty inside a maze of evergreens.
But I can tell you how the other horror story ended.
In “Cool Air,” the doctor’s air conditioning breaks down. He has made a friend, but they can’t manage to arrange repairs for the system. The poor guy ends up in a bathtub full of ice, and even that doesn’t work. He basically melts.
I guess it’s better than freezing to death.
