Empty Skies

Have you ever realized how much the weather is discussed from day to day? Well this morning I woke up and decided to count how many times the weather was brought up in conversation in one day? My day is not yet over and the weather has been mentioned in twenty-seven separate instances. At first I was somewhat 'agog' at the significant amount of words wasted talking about the weather, but then it made sense to me.

The weather is very important and influential in our day to day lives. No matter how isolated we are in our daily routines, the weather usually plays a major role in dictating our moods. I find that when outside, in the dry heat of a Texas summer, people are usually edgy, but then again who wouldn't be edgy sweating standing still. Some people are frightened by storms. Others, no one I know but they are mentioned, are saddened by the rain. Of course my brother in law is a landscaper, so he's just the opposite. I also enjoy rain in case you have not read any of my previous posts. I enjoy thunderstorms, hell I even enjoy tornados. Not their destructive power, but the sheer science and amazing power they yield. I grew up around tornados and storms. When I was little I learned not to be afraid of storms simply because my mother sat on the front porch and would watch it hail, or the sky turn green just before a tornado. I was writing a storm, and due to our recent rain deprivation, my character was treating it like a religious experience. I had to go back and rewrite it.

But I digress. Weather dictates much more than our moods. It has a larger affect on our daily lives than how it makes us feel. Weather is a reflection and a source of our climate. The land depends upon a delicate balance of rain and sunshine and temperature to produce a specific crop. Without a stability in this balance, a major food and cash source is depleted. Wages in certain industries go down and the prices of certain products go up because of a low supply. This is a change in our daily routines, therefore we must change to account for it.

Weather also affects our living environments. For example, hotter weather usually results in a higher electricity demand to keep buildings cooler. Drier weather depletes the water supply which fuels some power plants. Drier weather also depletes water in the soil. The earth dries up and large cracks appear in the ground. Foundations of buildings begin to shift. When the weather changes, so many aspects of our lives change. When the weather becomes hotter and drier, a new way of keeping cool, or building houses, or conserving water must be found and put into action. Unfortunately, as human beings, we reject change and cling to routine and tradition. Thus, a problem forms.

It is no wonder that weather has been discussed twenty-seven times in the last six hours since I woke up this morning. It is a determining factor in how we live, how we eat, and how we spend our time and resources. So, in conclusion, PRAY FOR RAIN!!!!!!!!!! I must excuse myself now. I am going outside now to gaze up at the sky and beg the large grey clouds above to please drop some substantial rain. After that, I will do some research and perform a rain dance. Good luck all, chao tam biet.