Summertime

According to Simon, homicides go up about 10% in Baltimore in the summer. He describes one incident in which a 16 year old is killed over a popscicle. Frankly, I am surprised that the rate only goes up 10%. Baltimore summers are miserable. From July to August there is 100 degree days combined with 100% humidity, and the night time brings no relief. I remember lying in bed in my second floor, unairconditioned, apartment one summer night after night wondering when sleep would come. Inside the city it was even worse. The houses are close together and there are fewer trees. No matter what time of night you drive down certain streets you can see people sitting on the porches of their rowhouses trying to catch a non-existent breeze. Isn't there a short story that ends with a line about it being so hot it is enough to drive a man mad? Maybe from Edgar Allan Poe?