Column by Bill Bradberry — Let there be no doubt, weather influences my mood.

After enduring a solid week of rain, clouds and overall doom and gloom, I had to remind myself that the sun still shines above the clouds and that no matter how dark and depressing it may be, somewhere, the sun is shining and that eventually, it will shine here too.

I remember when it dawned on me nearly 30 years ago when I moved to south Florida that sunshine was the norm. It happened gradually. I got up one bright sun shiny day and decided to rush to the beach before the clouds rolled in.

The next day, same thing; up early, to the beach to beat the weather. Finally after a week or so of great sunshine, I realized that sunshine was the norm during certain parts of the year down there significantly closer to the equator than I had been raised in up here a little closer to the North Pole.

It took a while, but eventually I learned to accept the fact that bad weather was the exception there, not the norm, depending of course on what you might define as good weather.

For me, nothing beats bright sunshine; there is something therapeutic about it for me. I equate sunshine with happiness, warmth and goodness though I have always been strangely excited by dark and stormy weather too.

For me, there is nothing like a good, hard blowing gust; just enough to make the trees bow and howl the wind. I love to see the skies turn mad black as menacing storm clouds gather and threaten havoc.

But then I like to see it end without damage; just enough to give everyone a scare sufficient to remind us all that Mother Nature is in charge.

As a kid growing up here, I became fascinated with weather. Heck, it could close school and give me and my buddies a chance to earn good money shoveling snow.

Of course I was, and to some extent I remain naïve about the real damage that extreme weather can provoke.

Need I mention Katrina and this Springs horrid tornado outbreaks?

No. I won’t go there, but who can deny that something weird is going on with the weather; man- made or not, things these days seem sometimes to be going way too far; I don’t propose to know what to do about it, I don’t know that anyone really can, except to be better prepared.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that weather affects my mood. Take this past weekend for example; the fact that it was pouring down rain here while our Buffalo Bills were reminding me of seasons past, did not help to brighten my day in the least.

Losing a winnable game is depressing enough; pouring dreary rain on top of it did not help. Just about everyone I connected with after that game was nearly clinically depressed and I think that the bad weather helped to dampen our spirits.

Some science says that I am not alone in my observation that weather matters; that it affects moods.

The American Psychological Association has gone so far as to commission a study on the relationships between psychology and global climate change concluding in part that, "…a psychological perspective is crucial to understanding the probable effects of climate change, reducing the human drivers of climate change, and enabling effective social adaptation". In other words, there really is a connection between us humans and the weather.

I’ll leave it at that for now.

Perhaps some recording artists have made the relationship a little easier to understand. Scrolling through my old iPod a few days ago, I found a few rainy day renditions that I have collected over the years ranging from Ella Fitzgerald’s 1949 "Here’s that Rainy Day" and Dinah Washington’s "September in the Rain" to the other end of the musical spectrum including, "Still Raining, Still Dreaming" by Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeplin’s "The Rain Song".

Listening to all of them, I gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for the impact that weather can have on one’s state of mind, and hence, one’s attitude or perspective.

So whether you are like Tina Turner, who belts out, "I Can’t Stand the Rain", or Marvin Gaye who celebrates, "Walkin’ In the Rain", there is no doubt in my mind anyway, that weather affects my mood, and that I am not alone, am I?

To be certain about the connection, I prowled the internet in search of evidence and I came across a piece done by Ken Elsold, PhD for Psychology Today called "The Importance of Weather".

He says, "As a nation we have become preoccupied with the weather…but why?" He concludes that it, "may be virtually the only thing we all still share."

Dr. Elsold says that weather has always been the easiest topic to talk about and that, "It happens equally to us all, rich or poor, black or white, old or young…the weather provides us with a common enemy".

While that much may be true, we do not all respond to it the same way; not everyone can afford to cope with extreme heat or cold in the same way; again…Katrina!

Of course, some people are happier in the dark, cloudy pall of dismal rain and cold, scorning the sun’s ravaging rays, while others worship and adore Old Sol.

I have good friends in cloudy, rain soaked places who are there BECAUSE of the weather; some like it hot; some don’t, and they’re happy as happy can be. And I have other friends and family who much prefer the searing tropics of the deep-south and would never have it any other way.

So, it’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose. No doubt good things can happen on cloudy, gloomy days, and obviously, not so good things still happen all the time in bright sunshine.

Either way, happiness is where you find it, regardless of the weather.

The weather forecasts, good or bad remind me of my dear sweet mother, who always kept a song in her heart and on her lips. The lyrics and the tune of one of her favorites, "Side By Side" written in 1927 by Harry Woods and Gus Kahn comes to mind sometimes when I think the weather is going to get me down:

"Through all kinds of weather

What if the sky should fall?

Just as long as we’re together,

It doesn’t matter at all

When they’ve all had their quarrels and parted

We’ll be the same as we started

Just a-traveling along

Singing a song

Side by side…"

By the way, the weather forecast looks GREAT ... Enjoy!

Contact Bill at bill.bradberry@yahoo.com