So, just how hot was it? Residents of Florida, Texas, and other southern states may laugh, but the greater Seattle Area is ill-equipped to cope with temperatures that topped out at 96°. Nor could the poor Doubletree Hilton at SEATAC’s air conditioning keep upper-floor hallways cool; those with glass-faced enclosures facing the sun reached fry-me-an-egg levels. At some hours of the day, the temperature in the elevator was ridiculous.

By show’s close, Nelvin, a mouse-like finger puppet who has served as my synthetic spirit animal for over a decade, could no longer maintain lookout over the rearview mirror of my ’94 Toyota Corolla. After three days of singeing his whiskers off in an uncovered parking lot, Nelvin was so desperate that he made a nose-dive for my drinking water cup. The poor creature barely survived.