Link to the Show / Show NotesHere's the transcript to Bowl of Cheese Podcast #45. Maybe we'll make it to 50 before the summer's over.
Enjoy!
And remember, if you have an idea for a Bowl of Cheese podcast, call
the talk like at 206-888-2715 or leave a comment on this post. I'd be
glad to have another guest host read their submission for the audience.
I require you to be clean, well-spoken, fun and relevant. Podcasts are
between three and five minutes long. Rants are always welcome.
Enough of that, here's the transcript..
The
rainās coming down in droplets as large as jelly-beans and the windās
got my curtains sticking into the room at right angles to the wall.
I
can feel the temperature of the air drop by many degrees. Where it was
80 earlier itās now about 65. Itās a welcome respite from the humidity
and baking temps of the past few days.
As the thunder alerts me to more unsettled weather, I wonder whatās behind our aversion to the elements.
Certainly,
being struck by lightning, washed away in a flood or a tornado, and
smashed to bits by tsunamis and hurricanes isnāt anyoneās idea of a
great adventure. But more often than not, we huddle inside when faced
with a deluge, blistering heat or high winds.
Is this a condition of our evolution? Did we evolve just to run away from the challenges of our environment?
We
canāt control the weather yet. So maybe itās a flight reaction similar
to when a Hippo charges us or when we see a gun. Regardless of the
reason - genetic coding or learned response - people return to their
homes, cars, offices or other sanctuaries for safety when the weather
goes bad.
In some ways people remind me of ants. Fill up a
watering can and pour it on an anthill and those creatures respond in
the same way they would if the skies opened up and water fell from
above. They donāt know any better and maybe they donāt care.
But
we have the knowledge that storms move over us. That rain makes us wet
and that lightning, while deadly, probably isnāt going to strike us
when weāre in the city or while walking down the street. So what makes
us fearful?
Human skin hasnāt been found to melt. Standing in
the rain wonāt give you pneumonia. Tousled hair is about the worst
youāre going to suffer from a summer breeze. Whatās our problem?
A
Livescience.com story published in 2006 told of a study by psychologist
John Westefeld at the University of Iowa. He surveyed 130 people about
their reaction to weather and a large number of them were affected
significantly by storms, wind, rain and other phenomena.
āOf 139
people surveyed, 89 said a good storm sometimes or occasionally gets
their heart pounding, and 65 said they panic now and then,ā said the Livescience article.
The articleās author - Robert Roy Britt - wrapped up the article with this...
āOverall,
the researchers said 73 percent of the survey participants had "a
little bit" or "moderate" fear of weather, while 24 percent had none.
Just 3 percent were labeled as fearing Mother Nature "quite a bit."
The results are detailed in the June (2006) issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.ā
In
many cases, unless you believe in Noah and feel that weāre back on a
path that will feature storms lasting a month and a half, the events
only last a little while. They might cause some immediate damage to
physical structures and to peopleās psyches, but theyāre over fairly
quickly.
Perhaps itās the spectacular nature of a sudden
rainstorm that gets our attention. The sudden onset of black clouds and
the chilly wind.
Except for the extraordinary storm, most events
just last a little while and soon the status-quo returns. People emerge
from their modern caves and go on with their lives.
In fact, the
birds have started singing again and the last drops of rain are falling
off the leaves. I started this column as the skies began to darken
about 22 minutes ago. Now the sky is getting lighter and I guess Iāll
leave my cave too.
See you inside the next time we have a storm. Iām not afraid.
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