Weathering

Sailing folk can read the sky and consult their personal knowledge to know whether to venture out or not. Those who care for challenge, the true sailing folk, will unleash their double-masted steeds and plunge into the fray, while the city weekend sailor will settle in with his yellow slicker coat, for a wet dock wander amongst his like kind to speak of the blow out there and unpleasant white-knuckle experiences that The Wife won't let him do again. No siree. Weather seems to be big these days, more so than ever. There are complete channels devoted to it. I know people who take the weather dead seriously and consult it first, over their horoscopes or gazing at the health of their morning tongues in the bathroom mirror. They worry about the little pictures on the gawk box that show the sun peeping over a tiny cloud or little blue raindrops funneling down. They fret over satellite cloud covers and high and low pressure systems and whether they are on the verge of them or not. Their mood depends on this. In fact, they will agonize over the seven day forecast even though it is as reliable as a time sched for a city train. One individual I know, falls into a depression if the weather map shows a week of rain ahead even in a Vancouver winter that is forever nothing but rain. The weather report, usually done by a model-like female complete with hair piece, fashionable outfit and perfect make-up or a cute short guy hopping about with his spiky cut - all professional meteorologists of course -  have become a feature, an entertainment. No longer is it good enough to say, hey it's winter. There'll be snow in most of the country with the usual exception of the West Coast and rain when it isn't snowing. It will be around a freezing temperature and in the summer, we'll get the sun again. Simple. But no, the weather segment of your news report becomes, while for the most part Eastern, as usual, longer than necessary with a short blurb about the moderate climes of the West thrown in.  I call it the West Whiff of the weather report. In places that have had weather phenomenon whether it be a storm or a flood or a mud slide, you are sure to get endless clips, always the same picture, of fallen trees preferable through roofs, flood photos in places where it always floods and slitherings of mud coming down a short piece of a city street. Most of these bits of tape are seen repeatedly and are not the vast disasters they are purported to be. They're usually found and photoed in isolated locations. Yes, there are weather disasters but they are relatively rare. Weather can be violent as proven, and if so,  indeed reportable. It fits in with the bad-news-is-big-news category. I guess what I am saying is for the most part, what's the big deal? Yes, it rains in winter in certain parts of the country and snows in others. The forecast is as easy as going outside and peering upward or looking out your window at the sky. That's todays weather. You'll know if you should dig out the umbrella or the snow shovel. But then, without the weather report what would we talk about at the bus stop or around the coffee machine?