I too am guilty of starting conversations by talking about the weather. Just this morning, with the mailman, in fact. Weather as a topic has been criticized as shallow, inane, pointless. But it is a safe way to open a connection with a stranger, so that they are no longer strange. It is something we all experience in common, regardless of our background and circumstances. And it is a door, slightly ajar, which can be opened wider or slammed shut.