The weather is always a good source for small talk. In these dark and dreary days of January, that “small talk” is probably even smaller — meaner and more morose. Whether it’s chatting at the check-out stand with a cashier, or making conversation in the cramped quarters of a slow moving elevator, this time of year “weather talk” isn’t likely to be upbeat.

“I hate the snow!”
“Don’t you just love what the salt does to your shoes, your car, your clothes?”
“Tornado warnings in January? Really!!”
“It’s dark when I go out in the morning and dark when I get home after work. I haven’t seen daylight in weeks!”
“Why does every parking spot come equipped with its own giant puddle?”

Everyday grouses of everyday glitches. But they give our casual conversations and interactions a kind of “survivor” ca…