The Weather
by Al Duthie
The weather. What a safe topic for conversation. What a common topic for conversation. What an always relevant topic for conversation. What a good topic to complain about without offending any particular person. What better topic to talk about with a neighbor? What better topic to talk about with a stranger? Why, even with family and friends it’s a good topic to talk about. Weather is always changing and weather is always present. Like life, weather has its ups and downs, good and bad moments. The weather. I’m sure we all have used this topic when we run out of things to talk about with someone we don’t know well, or used talking weather as an “ice breaker” for conversation. And it’s difficult to argue about the weather, because it is what it is, and mother nature has the control, we sure don’t. I first became aware (gave any thought to) of weather as a subject probably about the age of 9 or 10 when I was around my grandparents, who were retired farmers. My first impression was how obsessed they (especially my grandmother) were with “what is it doing out side”? My mother explained to me that farming relies so much on the weather for successful crops, in terms of temperature, moisture, sunshine, and even wind conditions. My grandparents were more than curious about the weather, the subject was part of their need to know information. Until that point of realization, I as a kid, like all other kids, took the weather as being whatever it was it was, no worries. Weather does play a role in how we humans feel. Some people are challenged mood-wise when it’s cloudy and rainy for too long. I would safely say that for 98% of us a nice sunny day lifts our spirits and outlook versus a gloomy weather day. Even a nice sunny day in the middle of winter makes a difference compared to a cloudy day. And add in the factor of “bad” weather postponing or canceling our scheduled events, and our moods can “sour” real quick ly. We can all think of rain messing up something we had planned (perhaps a baseball game) or snow or extreme cold temperature doing the same thing (perhaps travel by air or car). The weather is a passion for some people, especially extreme weather (tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, etc.) in the form of weather “chasers” and the like. My wife could fit into that group, if given the right circumstances. Me, no way I would join that following. I can think of many other exciting things to watch or participate in besides dangerous weather events. Weather will always be around and weather will always be available to dominate conversations, if wanted or needed to. Weather is not the most consistent thing in terms of 100% predictability. Often times certain regions of our country or the world needs rain or no rain for a while, and the opposite occurs. If only weather could “balance out” or always spread good fortune to farmers and the general population. But it can’t and it won’t. That would be too easy. That would not be interesting. That’s not reality. That’s not life! Freaky Weather Facts: 1- About 2,000 thunderstorms rain down on Earth every minute.
2- A 2003 heatwave turned grapes to raisins before they were picked from the vine. 3- Cats and dogs have been known to sense when a tornado is approaching.
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26 Crest Ink April, May & June 2021
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