Air-conditioning unit died this week.

Not last week when the temperatures settled around a very comfortable 80 degrees, but this week when the thermometer hovered around 90. Great timing!

As the house warmed degree by degree, we opened all the windows in the house, windows that had never been opened. Fans were turned on. These maneuvers brought the inside temperature down to...89. Hurrah!

For one day (we didn't remember we had ceiling fans until day two), there was no sound in the house. No hum of that little motor that runs the air. The silence inside the house created an uncluttered peace. I could clearly hear the birds outside and the breeze through the trees, sounds from childhood before air-conditioning, all coming through the open windows.

On day two the repairman came. He parked out front and walked up the drive and into the garage. He opened the access door to the furnace and turned off the by-pass switch. The air-conditioner hummed to life.

Most amazingly....no charge. And cool air. And humming. Now I can see the birds and see the leaves moving in the breeze but these wonders of nature are now enjoyed optically and not auricularly.

And that's what I think about it. Yes, really, I know what you are thinking. No charge.