There's one thing I love about a heatwave...

There's one thing I love about a heatwave... The Nightwalks tend to be juicier.

The heat is good for 5 things:

1. It means people without AC leave their windows wide open and their blinds up... Easier to hear them, easier to see them.

2. It tends to prevent people from sleeping, so there's actually more activity to be seen, than there would be in the colder months.

3. The heat cooks people's frustrations and they rise right to the surface- your more likely to see a fight on a very hot night.

4. The heat also cooks people's loins, and they tend to be a little bolder in their pursuit of each other.

5. And it wears people right down. They tend to be more exhausted, less aware. less likely to notice when you press up against their window, close enough to hear them breath:

It was faint, but I think I could smell her shampoo.

If her window had been shut, I would've still seen her. But I wouldn't have heard her tell her boyfriend that she hated how they were two hours apart.... And I wouldn't have heard her tell him all the nasty things she'd do to him if only they lived closer together.

I wouldn't have heard her breath quicken when she slipped a hand down under her bathrobe, and I wouldn't have heard her whispering ever dirtier things into the phone.

And after she finished, wished him a goodnight, and hung up, I'd have been able to see her watching TV. I'd have been able to see her laughing. But I wouldn't have heard that odd grunting sound that is her unique laugh. I wouldn't have heard the jokes that she thought were so funny. 

Well, it was an ok night. But I'm looking for more tomorrow. I want to see people acting like animals. I want to hear a fight. 

The guy who gave me such a great show last november isn't an option any more. He's gone. (He and his wife divorced. Shocking, right?) Newly weds live there now, and they are very nice to each other. 

But maybe the heat will make them crack. As long as the humidity doesn't finally break, and the rain stays away I'll give them a shot tomorrow. 

The night is always interesting, darkness itself is a window into people's truer selves- a chance to see how people behave when they are under the illusion of privacy. 

But a hot night is all that and more. It's a window into their truer selves AND their rawer selves. Like a drug that tells their lizard brains to go just a little harder. 

Fingers crossed.