By Jerry Riley

I’m really not going to get into how high or low you keep your thermostat. Climate is not under human control (well, not that we know of), so I am going to try to address some of our cultural uses of the term “cool.”
Something regarded as cool is “an admired aesthetic of attitude, behavior, comportment, appearance and style, influenced by and a product of the Zeitgeist. Because of the varied and changing connotations of cool, as well its subjective nature, the word has no single meaning. It has associations of composure and self-control , and, often is used as an expression of admiration or approval. Although commonly regarded as slang, it is widely used among disparate social groups, and has endured in usage for generations.”
We may think of the Fonz, of “Happy Days” fame, or maybe selected automobile advertisements. I’m sure everyone has certain thoughts when they hear the word cool .
As with many of my columns, I took a very unscientific poll of people around Eureka, and a question on Face Book. Two people wondered if I wanted to interview them as an example of cool. I found out that the context of how the word is used is very important, as it the age of the people using the term. Here are a few of the replies; While more mature people think of winter and cool weather, younger people use words like cool Whip, having to do with Pumpkin Pie. Trendy and current were also mentioned. Awesome, epic and groovy were also terms connected with cool.
Yes, I wrote the last sentence first. It was the inspiration for the rest of the words, and, what a revoltin’ development this is! Think about it, if people say you are cool, are you, maybe, just not so hot?

Jerry Riley is an occasional commentator for the News Bulletin. He is a retired telecommunications supervisor.
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