Weather Junkie
When I was quite young, like high school and college age, I can’t remember ever once checking the weather forecast, not one single time. It was a subject that was of no interest to me whatsoever. In my mind the weather was what it was. Forecasting seemed so unnecessary. You wore summer clothes in the summer, a jacket in the fall, a coat in the winter, and a sweater in the spring - simple as that. If you needed to know if it was raining, you could just look out the window. What could be easier than that? I was always confused as to why the evening news broadcast devoted any time to it. The whole topic was just so boring.
I can now report that for better or worse, I have done a complete about face. I can’t say exactly when the change took place. I guess it was a gradual process. I’m really not sure, but somewhere along the line I began to find weather rather fascinating, and I can’t for the life of me understand why. How has this happened? Have I become that dull? I’d like to think that’s not the case, yet here I am every evening eagerly checking the ten-day forecast, the overnight forecast, and the next day’s hourly forecast. Then I check it all again the next morning, and I must say those predictions are remarkably accurate. It’s not anywhere near as hit and miss as it used to be. If there’s a prediction of rain at 2 PM, grab your umbrella. You’ll need it.
None of this has been an easy admission for me. I never thought my interest in the weather forecast would reach this level of intensity. I know there are far more important things going on in the world, so I should mention that this one interest is not at the expense of others. I stay informed, but in my defense the conditions outdoors are changing on an hourly basis, and unless you never leave the house, you’re going to have to deal with them.
Anyway, that’s how I see it. Maybe I just should’ve been a weather girl/woman/person or whatever the current PC term is. That could’ve been a very realistic career path for me. I certainly have the requisite enthusiasm. I really do, no question about it. I could’ve made weather junkies out of all of you.