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Cooling station mist-ifies boiling passersby

Concert misting system inspired resident to beat the heat
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David Naysmith tinkers with the nozzle of his makeshift cooling station outside his 885 Runnymede Pl. residence on July 28. (Evert Lindquist/News Staff)

An Oak Bay couple is helping locals keep cool amid the sweltering summer heat by operating a makeshift misting station right off their front lawn.

David Naysmith, inspired after attending a packed concert in Seattle, Wash., where dozens of hoses cast refreshing mist into the heat of the masses, got creative during the recent hot spell with his hose and a utility pole on his 885 Runnymede Pl. property to give passersby a cleansing cool-off and rewarding refresher.

His wife Jo-Marie said the extended and adjustable nozzle piece Naysmith fastened onto the hose was easy to find at the local Home Hardware. She also joked that his “we’ve ‘mist’ you” pun he pasted underneath the station lacked real meaning.

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Shenanigans aside, Naysmith gave a brief demonstration of how the device can both stream water and spray mist with just the flick of a switch, allowing those passing by to momentarily escape the heat and help themselves to a drink.

“I just thought, ‘What the heck. We’ll put it out because we have lots of walkers and cyclists and dog-walkers that come by here,’” Naysmith said.

He added that the station mists at the perfect trajectory for people’s hot, howling hounds as well.

Naysmith and his wife agreed that more noteworthy spectacles existed in their community - their garden bench that Naysmith built has hosted everyone from young lovers and wedding couples, to marijuana smokers and husbands banished to the streets at night. But the couple’s mist-ifying gadget will nonetheless serve to refresh residents for the remainder of the sizzling summer.


 

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