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Jewish World Review Jan.27, 2005 / 17 Shevat, 5765 Blizzard warms heart By Lenore Skenazy
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
So were you snowed in? Cold enough for you? Great hat!
Shiver me timbers, New York has been socked by a nor'easter of weather clichés. The "stay warms!" are swirling. Boring? You'd think so. But like snowflakes themselves, every conversation turns out to be a little different.
This morning, for instance, as I was trudging into work, I fell into snowy step with my colleague Albor, who was freezing. I wasn't, because I was wearing (Mom, please note): long underwear, medium underwear, a scarf that could double as a bedspread and a hat that could double as a rabbit (and did).
"I should have worn something on my head," said Albor.
"That's the problem," I chided. "You grew up in Cuba, I grew up in Chicago. I learned how to bundle."
And in that tiny exchange - ostensibly about the weather but really about us - we had a great moment.
Most weather moments turn out quietly great, because unlike discussions about politics or the new boss or how much less you paid for your printer than me, the speaker always means well.
There's the sympathy comment: "Must've been hard getting to work today."
The concern comment: "Have you got gloves?"
The shared suffering comment: "I can't believe it's supposed to get colder!"
And the I-care-about-what's-happening-to-you comment: "How's the weather by you?"
Then there's the information-we-all-already-share comment that is nonetheless conversational catnip.
"The snow has stopped!" announced my neighbor Julie, as three families gathered in her apartment for a blizzard-inspired potluck dinner Saturday night.
The fact that all 10 of us were sitting in the same room looking out the same window did not stop this pronouncement from prompting swift reaction. On the contrary, we all stared out even more pointedly and began exclaiming things like, "Hey, it did stop!" and, "Wonder if it's over?" Perhaps a more banal conversation has never been recorded (except, "Did you see 'American Idol' last night?" "Yeah."), but it had the immediate effect of making 10 people feel optimistic, cozy and connected.
Bad weather is a collective experience, affecting us all the same way (except skiers). Trump or tramp, we all curse the slush.
Of course, there are some who will always feel that weather chats are the lowest conversational denominator - that an ice-breaking "Brrr!" is basically saying, "Look, we really don't have anything in common."
Anything, that is, except compassion, curiosity, vulnerability and wet socks. The things that make us want to buy the world a hot chocolate.
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