Show Whether Weather Or Not Writer Tells of Conversation Topic Whether its it's cold or whether its it's hot We Ve gotta have weather whether or not This homely bit bitof of philosophy thrust itself home rather too forcibly forcibly forcibly forc forc- the other day when out of clear blue skies and for no good reason at all the weather man decided decided decided de de- de- de to have himself a blizzard The weather is a very necessary evil which is with us wherever we weare weare weare are and whether we like the weather we got we gotta have weather whether or not But so society society society so- so with that trait of f always being a able le to make the best of a bad bargain has not only accepted the weather but bait has made it an honor member as it were by making it the chief topic of conversation In any clime and pt at any time the weather is al always always always al- al ways there there the the only safe and sure thing to talk about Discourse in terms of prevailing atmospheric conditions is a language everyone speaks and everyone understands In China obviously one must say something to start the c conversational conversational conver conver- nver- nver ball rolling But does one say Ni Nice e rice you have 1 Most decidedly one does not One makes a casual observation about the weather and the sensing sensing sensing sens sens- ing that here is a man representative representative representative of a race of highly individualized individualized individualized original thinking clear-thinking people immediately welcomes not only you but the rest of your race as kindred souls In Spain one neither remarks on the high cost of chili the merits of hot tamales nor the agility with which the bull buH puts an end to the bull fighter One says it hot 1 or it cold 1 as the case may be and Spain as a whole is ready to go out and sink their Armada over again if the speaker so desires To I break into Russian society and come in high favor with the Communists Communists Communists Com Com- one does not run around throwing bombs at the czars One compliments the Russian variety of weather and the are arere re ready dy to throw themselves and their bombs at ones one's feet slaves feet slaves for life Abili Ability y to talk interestingly I about the weather can gain one an entree he may desire Traditions and conventions have grown up about this pet subject so that now it is the one and only acceptable method of starting con con- con con- No o matter how important important important tant the subject matter to follow discourse on the weather is a necessary necessary necessary essary preliminary Meetings of parliament congress and even the League of N Nations are never called to order until the pros cons ups and downs of the weather have been fully threshed out When people are marooned on desert is islands islands is- is lands the first step to breaking conversational ice is not as you might expect inquiries as to the health of the survivors or condolences condolences condolences condo condo- lences for those thos who were lost but trite observations of prevailing climatic climatic climatic cli cli- matic conditions And I fully expect that when I Idie Idie Idie die and go to heaven St. St Peter will greet me brightly at the gate with Lovely weather weve we've been hav hav- ing And I a slave to Convention Convention Convention Conven Conven- tion shall be forced to go on into eternity conversing tritely on the weather Or perhaps should I not go to heaven at all but to that other place where all good newspaper newspaper newspaper news news- paper writers go I shall hear the staff answering in chorus to previous inquiries of the devil its it's Whether U its it's cold or whether hot We gotta have weather whether or not |