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Heart of the Matter
Missing Dick Fletcher and other post-Fay observations
By CHARY SOUTHMAYD
Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008 |
After living in Florida for 25 years, there is one thing I have learned for certain about hurricane season: nothing is certain.
That realization should be all it takes to keep us on our toes – even crusty old timers like me who cringe at the thought of seeing Action News reporter Don Germaise standing out in the wind somewhere telling us that palm fronds are blowing around and it’s raining really hard. Overkill would be an appropriate description of his act. If we’ve seen it once, we’ve seen it a million times, as the camera operator pans over to a flag whipping around in the wind. Ho hum.
Last week, I swore if I heard the term “dodged a bullet” one more time I was going to call the TV stations and implore them to teach their reporters a new descriptive term and dock the pay of anyone who says “Well folks, we’ve really dodged a bullet this time.”
While TV news absolutely gorges on storm frenzy and the viewing public’s desire for information, which of course they hope will translate into big ratings and advertising dollars, at least the stations are well prepared for … whatever.
That’s about all any of us can do; try and be prepared as we keep our fingers crossed that Pinellas County will dodge … er ... manage to once again escape the worst.
In the office early last week after it was evident we were in the clear, I heard people scoff at Fay and how it was no big deal. Of course that was before Fay proceeded to linger around our state endlessly, making no less than four Florida landfalls while deluging some areas with enormous amounts of rainfall, making life miserable for plenty of people – far from no big deal in the long run.
As usual, Mother Nature pulled a fast one and cooked up a scenario that no one predicted. She is really good at that, which is why emergency preparedness dress rehearsals are never a bad thing.
In case you are new around here, you might like to know that even though hurricane season started June 1, we are just now approaching the busiest part of the season, when things really heat up in the tropics. As I write this, forecasters are tracking Hurricane Gustav and other tropical activity.
That’s a subtle reminder that it’s always smart to be vigilant and make sure you have a darn good idea what you and your pets would do if our area was seriously threatened and that friends and family members elsewhere know about your plans.
Living on the mainland in a D evacuation zone, I’ve become somewhat complacent about hurricane preparations, though I still pay attention (just not to Don Germaise) and make sure I stock up on water, batteries, cat and dog food, wine and other such essentials when something is brewing. As one who trusts the instincts of animals implicitly, I watch their behavior. Usually I know a bad thunderstorm is coming long before a drop of rain falls, thanks to Patches, my weather dog.
To end on a melancholy note, I really missed Ch. 10 meteorologist Dick Fletcher during the Fay coverage. He was always a solid source of information and comfort without being reactionary or flashy. He was one in a million – just like hurricanes A to Z have the potential to be.
Chary Southmayd is the editor of the Belleair Bee.
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Article published on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008
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