I Will Not Talk About the Weather
February 2nd, 2011 § 2 Comments
They say that people in New York don’t talk to strangers. But I disagree. The one conversation we will have with someone we don’t know is surrounding the weather, particularly in the winter. You’ll see someone on the subway shake off an inch of snow from his jacket and know that you can smile and say, “how bout this snow?” without being categorized as crazy.
I actually think it’s a beautiful thing that the weather can encourage conversation between strangers. (One thing I noticed while living in LA is that people rarely talk about the weather. This is undoubtedly because it is 70 and sunny three hundred days out of the year)
Despite my fondness for the role that the weather plays in connecting strangers, I’m pretty sick of weather talk, partly because the topic has started to bore me, particularly because this whole “wintry mix” routine has persisted for far too long, and partly because weather is not a creative conversation topic to choose. It’s kind of my “default” for striking up a conversation with a stranger.
So, today, I will not talk about the weather. As I stand in the elevator this morning, I will be forced to entertain a different topic of conversation. Perhaps, an authentic, “how you are doing this morning” to someone I don’t know will just have to suffice.
Great post Ker! It is amazing how the weather can consume our conversations! Yes it’s cool that it inspires interaction when it might not otherwise happen, but yes it’s also a rather uncreative go to. We’re gearing up for another snow here in Nashville, so this is going to be an interesting challenge for me today!
Great post Kerr! I love how crazy weather, broken subways, malfunctioning technology and things like that can bring humanity together. My first blog (ever) was about how a big storm in Newark brought a bunch of strangers (myself included) together. People become one, realizing that we are all just humans when it comes down to it.
And this presents a great opportunity to create real meaningful conversation. Have fun not talking about the weather. Let us know what cool stories come out of it.