August in the Northeast! And the HEAT IS ON!

I'm a graduate student finishing my masters degree- with two children. My parents have been keeping them while I attend class. This last class began on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 8:30 a.m. which necessitated a drop off time, for all of us, of about 8:15 a.m. Well. Here in the northeast we've had somewhat of a heatwave and my parents have been running their central air consistently. That is until this morning. Mind you my father is 77, which really is no excuse, but when the temperature dipped down into the 50's, and the humidity plummeted along with it, their central air clicked off, and my Dad TURNED ON THE HEAT! Now it's August as I'm writing this post and the expected high today is 81. I ask you, would you turn on the heat? Especially after last years natural gas prices? I think not.