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What do you talk about with folks? I'm still amazed by how much of our conversation revolves around the weather. It is the standard ICE BREAKER in almost all small talk. It POURS out of our mouth so easily this banter about the RAIN or the WIND or the HEAT or the SNOW. It's been raining here since I arrived and it has been for some time. I was told 31 out of the past 35 days have had rain. It also appears that these have not been an hour or two of clouds with a quick shower Myrtle Beach style but the overcast cold windy day with showers or continuos rain. So New Englanders have had plenty to talk about. It's not that we don't talk about nice weather but even then your likely to hear it's too hot or too humid. If the weather seems perfect it hardly gets a mention. Sometimes I think God must look at us and wonder if anything will please us for more than five minutes. Our negativity often amazes me. The weather is just the easiest example of the tendency in humans to want more and better all the time and not be satisfied with anything. I just heard again one of those tales of a man who after many years left his wife for another woman. Sometimes now it seems like relationships are viewed almost like trading in the old car for a new model expecting this one to be better. I play golf sometimes with a guy that before almost every shot predicts the worst possible result and I guess he's not disappointed. Norman Vincent Peale with the power of positive thinking may have had his day but it seems to be long past. Criticism seems to bring more joy than compliments, and complaints more than appreciation. If I have learned anything about myself in this time of missing Marsha it is that I did not appreciate her enough, and did not show her enough how happy she made me. What happened to biblical mandates to have thankful hearts and rejoice always, and fear not little flock. Why do we so easily let our hearts be troubled and all the worst of life be the HOT TOPICS?