While my friends in Memphis are seeing high temperatures in the upper 50s, we’ve had bitter wind chills in the single digits. There have been morning walks with the dog when the wind was so biting that I was certain that this place was evil, or at the very least, intentionally mean-spirited, or perhaps Siberia.
I can’t quite describe just how visceral my reaction was on Friday morning as I walked uphill with the wind in my face, bundled up and feeling like the cold was cutting through me. I’m pretty sure I dropped a few F-bombs and used the word hate once or twice. I might have begged the question “why are you doing this?” or “why is this place so inhospitable to humans?” to whatever supernatural forces were at work (picture that old emperor dude using the lightening from his hands against Luke in Star Wars). It was relentless and between cursing the weather and wanting to rage-ugly-cry, I was pleading for mercy.
Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little, but this winter has seemed harsh compared to previous winters. State College is colder and windier than the Philadelphia region, but not by much – yet it feels like it’s affecting me more, or that I’m less tolerant of it. I can’t wait for warmer weather – better temperatures and better temperaments.
I didn’t wake up wanting to write about this “lousy Smarch weather” (Simpsons reference). I started off the day warm, fuzzy, and appreciative. I watched the steam rise from my cup of coffee as it sat in a beam of sun on the kitchen counter. It wasn’t until Kimbrough (the dog) and I went on a morning walk that the Folgers commercial stopped with the halting sound of a record needle screech as the bracing cold hit my face and hands. I’d have shaken my fist at the clouds, but it was too cold for even that. But this got me to thinking about the relationship between mood and weather. About friendly and unfriendly places. Why are Californians seen as laid back and Southerners as polite with their Southern charm and Northeasterners as brash and hurried?
Temper, temperament, and temperature are all relatives through different Latin borrowings, and all three began with Latin-derived meanings involving such things as moderation, restraint, proportion, balance, and proper mixing. Although they enter English via different routes, they ultimately trace to the same Latin verbal root.
Merriam-Webster, Words at Play
Given the relationship between the words temperature and temperament, it seems intuitive that the two might be linked by more than etymology. Sure enough, a quick google search reveals that 2017 study examined climate and personality and found that “individuals who grew up in regions with more clement temperatures (that is, closer to 22°C) scored higher on personality factors related to socialization and stability (agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability) and personal growth and plasticity (extroversion and openness to experience).” I knew it!
This is, of course, a generalization and oversimplification. It doesn’t seem to account for those Scandinavian countries who deal with the cold and rank high on the happiness scale, nor does it account for that plucky Midwestern charm that emanates from the north central part of the US (the folks in Chicago and Minnesota seem nicer than those in the Manhattan and Philly). And while lots of things influence a person’s temperament, it makes sense that the climate might be one of them.
I was once engaged to a woman from San Diego who was living in Philadelphia. In many respects, she was one of the more pleasant people I’ve met. When she moved away, she said, in addition to not having anything left in Philly, that the city wasn’t for her – it was mean and cold, nobody said hello and everyone was in a hurry. I couldn’t disagree. Having lived most of my life in the Philly area, I became keenly aware of the cold personality climate I would return to after trips away from the Northeast corridor. I distinctly remember my first business trip out to Colorado Springs. I had rented a car out there and was driving like someone from the Northeast – quick to go at the lights and very much in a hurry compared to the other drivers. I also remember when I landed back in Philly – as I headed through baggage claim, a passenger in the terminal was arguing with an airport employee – they were loud and in each other’s faces. I had only been gone a few days but wondered why I had bothered to come back – other parts of the country don’t behave this way.
I haven’t been in State College long enough to make any generalized and useless determinations on the “personality traits” of central PA. What I have noticed is that I have days where the climate impacts my mood – and not for the better. I’ve been told that I have west-coast vibe… I sometimes wonder if that’s just a projection of who I’d like to be or if I’ve just been geographically misplaced this entire time.