Mar
11
Bring it on, Weatherman
Filed Under Uncategorized
I love me some nutty weather. Often the cost is tragic, but bad weather reminds us that we are an arrogant civilization. I think we all need a slap in the face every once in awhile to keep us in our place. A slap from the cold hand of Mother Nature.
As a kid, I was always disappointed after a summer thunderstorm. I remember going outside with my dad after a particularly bad storm. I was seven or eight years old. The power was still out in the neighborhood and the intersections were flooded as the storm sewers struggled to process the deluge. The clouds parted and the sun popped back in full glory, filling the afternoon once again with wet ohio summer heat. There was a rainbow.
How lame.
I don’t much care for rainbows. It means the storm has passed. I prefer the tension before the storm, the chaotic wind of a passing weather front. A rainbow means the excitement is over. You don’t have to be afraid of the clouds. Go back to watching TV.
So we got some snow last weekend. Quite a bit of snow, actually. They call it a “blizzard”. This is something. Although local weather reporters jump all over any kind of inclement conditions, I note that they hold this word in reserve. Like if misusing the word causes the jet stream to cancel one scheduled tornado warning for your viewing area later that spring.
It’s March and we the sky just dumped more snow on us than we’ve had all year. This was unfortunate, especially for my step brother who had scheduled his out of town wedding for this weekend. Instead of celebrating with family and friends, we were stuck inside, watching the local news team dispatched to all corners of the city for an in-depth look at White Death 2008.
To children, snow means snow days and snow men and snow ball fights. As adults, we are conditioned to dislike snow days like this. Adults tend to think more in terms of longer commutes and shoveling-related coronaries. But there is a part of me that finds it all very exciting.
Here’s the thing: We have a media industry geared around self-help and control. Lose weight, find a mate, control your finances, curb your addiction. I myself spend a lot of time thinking about very geeky first world organizational problems. There’s a talk show guest and self-help section for every area. But it’s all a myth. There is no control. You can make lists and plan all you want. You may improve yourself a bit and become a little more efficient, but there is nothing in the universe that will prevent twenty inches of snow from falling on your wedding reception.
I don’t take pleasure from any of this, but I think it’s good to get a little perspective. The universe is a grand and chaotic beast. We are silly to think there’s anything we can do about it.
For the record, I spent my snow days re-reading Alas, Babylon
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