Umm... Yeah... So It's Cold...

Let me start by saying that pretty much every stereotype - if you look closely enough - usually has some kernel of truth somewhere in its history.

I'm sure there are some that have none, but there are others which are just way too spot-on to have been made up.

One of the stereotypes of this part of the world (Minnesota and the surrounding states) is that everyone talks about the weather all the time.

We like to point at our agricultural heritage and say that it comes from years of necessity. Years of having to watch the weather to know how our harvest was going to be. But how many of the people I know, here in Minneapolis, really make their living based on the weather these days?

Even so, when Christopher and I were out tonight, I was sitting with some friends and talking and the weather was a major topic. Sure - I know that this is a good small-talk fallback point - but these were good friends and we have a lot of other topics we could have fallen back to. But the weather was the winner.

The problem, though, is that this time of year - when we're past the thrill of the start of winter, but not yet to the sigh of relief of the end of winter - there isn't really much to talk about beyond "Yup. It's cold."

I have to admit that I'm not sure the talk could have gotten any smaller than that.