Be Nice

Sounds simple enough.

I've commented before about how funny I think it is when extreme weather causes strangers to strike up random conversations. It happened to me three times today, little 15 second interactions about the temp, the blinding sunshine, the multiple winter accessories that render me unrecognizable, and each time I tried to come up with something positive to say. Our landlord always has something cheery to comment on when we run into him outside, and just one little happy statement can take a bit of the edge off and make me see thing a bit more brightly.

Which brings me to my title: Be Nice. We all go to bat for our families, friends, colleagues, neighbors, but when it comes to complete strangers were quicker to hold up a middle finger to another driver than we are to try and put a smile on someone's face.

I think the extreme-weather-random-conversation phenomenon is a way that people reach out to each other. A way to say "Hey, I'm hanging in there with you." People need that, and not just when it hurts to breath it's so cold, but also when they are sad, upset, lonely, crabby or just plain forgetting to see the bright side.