How's the Weather?

Every time I talk to my grandmother on the phone - or I post from her we never fail to talk about the weather. She often writes to me from different locations in the United States as she is almost always traveling - The letters will read along these lines.

Hi! - we are here in Oklahoma visiting some more Navy people. Bill and Julie have made a really nice home here. We're headed further south to Texas tomorrow and will be visiting old Navy men who use to work with your grandpa. It's been raining on and off but it isn't cold. How has it been in Iowa?


Then the letter would continue to ask about school and to talk about all the things they stopped to see and museums they visited. Sometimes the postcards come from specific museums but they are always themed to the travel. Mostly by state or closest major location.


I always wondered why my grandmother thought so much about the weather when she was in a new location. It always makes the opening lines of a correspondence.
Then I was in Water and Development and the professor asked about what farmers do all day. His funny response was - they sit around and worry about the weather all day. It may be funny, but the more that I think about it - the more I find this statement to be true. Rain fall, winds, amount of sun all effect the end product.

My grandmother comes from a farming community and a farming background. I even come from a farming community and semi-farming background. Weather is part of our culture. No matter how much I'd like to separate myself from asking about the weather I will always have this piece of my family and community culture to carry around.