< Back to front page Text size – +

A good day to know the slush girl

E-mail|Link|Comments () June 28, 2010 03:17 PM

By Alex Katz, Globe Correspondent

Pity the hot dog guy. Twenty-one-year-old Matt McGuire, his baseball cap on backwards and sunglasses shielding his eyes from the noonday glare, was selling gourmet dogs near the entrance to Park Street station today as the mercury climbed to 93 degrees.

Every 20 to 30 minutes, he said, he would spritz himself with a spray bottle he keeps in a cooler.

"When you're standing out here, slaving over a hot grill all day, it makes me glad I'm friends with the slush girl," he said.

A lot of people are in need of such a friend today. With temperatures in the 90s and high humidity, it will feel like it's 100 degrees outside, National Weather Service forecasters said, though some relief is expected later from strong thunderstorms.

Just about 20 feet away, Sabrina McKenna, 20, a native of Ireland, (the so-called "slush girl"), presided over a colorful cart, featuring cherry (red), raspberry (blue), watermelon (pink) and lemon (yellow) slush.

McKenna, who wore a white tank top with her brown hair up in a bun, said she had no complaints, welcoming the heat as a change from her chilly, rainy home country.

"This weather's a nice surprise for me," she said.

She said her secret to survival was drinking lots of water and putting on sunscreen.

"I come from Ireland so I don’t mind the heat," she said.

Martin Finucane of the Globe staff contributed to this report.