Blown Away

Although the Wyoming Wind Festival is a year-round event, it seems that it is in fullest swing between the months of October and April. So here we go! Hang on or get blown away!

I remember hearing something once about suicidal prairie housewives back in the early settling days who were driven over the edge by the constant, violent wind whipping in through the cracks of their crumbling sod houses. This stuck with me for many years to come, because I, while not suicidal in the least, am emotionally affected by the wind.

Wind makes me irritable. Cold wind, after several months on end, makes me angry. I don't know exactly why this is, but I have been doing some research today that has shed a bit of light on the problem. For me, I think it relates to the fact that I don't like going outside and having my clothes and hair assault me, so I stay inside a lot more, and that is not good for morale.

Wind illness, or P'a Leng (China and Southeast Asia), is a specific disorder that is defined as a fear of being cold or of the wind, which is associated with a loss of yang and upset of natural balance in the body. This relates to what Johnny said earlier about how strong wind blows away our personal atmosphere. It literally destroys our personal space.

I also found an article from a 1901 issue of Popular Science Monthly entitled "Suicide and the Weather" by Professor Edwin G. Dexter of the University of Illinois that says that wind produces a neurotic condition in which self control is in a marked degree lessened. Another article in today's BBC Weather Centre explores  "Weather and Behaviour" and states:

"A persistent or noisy wind can lead to an increase in tiredness and irritability, or even a sudden decrease in mood. Some school teachers have noticed that children tend to be more irritable and that there are more playground 'upsets' when it is windy.

Seasonal winds are known as 'ill winds' in many cultures and have a variety of names such as the föhn (Alps), Mistral (southern France), Chinooks (western Canada and the USA) and the Sharav (Middle East). They are linked to feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and sleepless nights."

Here in Wyoming, we like to make jokes about the wind such as "Do you know why the wind blows so hard in Wyoming?  Because Nebraska sucks!"  etc, etc etc.  Of course, Nebraska turns it around on us.   I've  lived in Nebraska and the wind there is just as bad.

So, sure enough there is evidence to prove that wind really does drive us crazy.  I can just imagine being one of those prairie farm wives during the Dust Bowl, home all day, nothing to listen to but crying children and the whistling wind, getting pelted with sand every time I went outside to do chores, a "black blizzard" looming in the distance.  Not fun.  Just sitting here now, listening to the wind rattle the windows of my warm, sturdy house, makes me slightly agitated.  I also heard that the number of murders and assaults increases during particularly windy weather.  This all comes around full circle from my previous blog post "Wyoming is a Place Where People go to Die."  I hope I don't kill anyone.