It's a beautiful day in the mountains - sunny and 50 - I'm thinking spring is on the way and then the weather guy says, snow showers tonight. What's that about - from the sublime to the ridiculous in one instant. Oh well, what can you do about the weather. The older I get the more I notice people talk about the weather (I mean old people), it's the first comment you hear when you meet someone - "nice day" "shitty day" "I hate rain" - ad nauseam. It's the way we relate? By weather? I especially notice this trend with older (over 50) men, I have men friends this age who watch the weather like it's a spectator sport, they can quote line and verse from the weather channel, the local weather, and the really, really up to the minute guys can give you the NOAA report. Now, maybe I am so unattractive at this time in my life that the only thing they know to say to me is "how's the weather." Better I suppose than, "you're the most unattractive woman I've seen in a long time." But, couldn't we relate to each other on some other superficial level like, "seen any good movies lately," or "how about those ......(fill in your favorite sports team). Of course they probably don't think I know much about sports, being female, over fifty, and overweight. I might mention that they also meet at least two of those parameters but then knowing about sports makes you a lot more interesting than just being over fifty and overweight. But they don't even try to make sports small talk, they talk about the WEATHER. Sometimes, I feel like asking about their sex lives, "so, did you get any last night," or their breath, "have you tried those new cinnamon Altoids," or their clothes, "how long have you had that particular shirt in your closet?." I could ask them about make up but that probably wouldn't work with most of them, you don't find too many 50 something metrosexuals around. Or maybe a question on the world bank, or Freud, or the 10 best sexual encounters they ever had. SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE WEATHER!
My father in law, bless his heart (that's what you say in the South before you say something mean about someone), is particularly keen on the weather. Of course at 83 there might not be anything else to be keen on but for God's sakes Bert, if you can read the newspaper weather report you might also try the front page or at least the Horoscope! We could have some meaningful discussion about that - "So dad what do you think about the fact that your moon is in Libra with an Aquarius trine and it doesn't look like a good day for making big decisions?" Now that would be a discussion with teeth. Instead, he says "doesn't look like a good day to wash the car, rain." And I say, "Is that right, were you planning to wash the car>" And he says, "no but if I was I couldn't do it today, paper says rain." And I say, "ahhh." And so it goes. Old guys and the weather, now that's a subject you can really get your teeth into.
