WHO PAYS ATTENTION TO WEATHER?

So, who pays attention to weather?  Do you keep up with weather predictions for one reason or another?  Most people do, but it seems to me that older people pay more attention than do younger folks.  That's easy to understand since young people are a lot more self-absorbed with doing their own thing and sometimes don't pay close attention to weather.  I've even had youngsters tell me, "Why bother?  It's gonna happen one way or another, so why worry about it?"  I can answer that lots of ways, but I'm not about to go through a lengthy listing. 

If my job is an outside job, like perhaps a commercial fisherman, I'll watch the weather.  As a truck driver, I'd do the same.  Farmers observe weather closely, and so do winter sports advocates.  But some people like to challenge bad weather.  I headed home toward the Oklahoma panhandle once after spending Christmas with parents down in Mississippi with a warning.  "You'll likely hit some bad weather.  Be careful," my mom said.  She was a dedicated weather watcher.  I just smiled and said I would, confident that a little snow or ice wouldn't slow me down much.  That night, I barely made it to the Oklahoma line before a massive snow storm shut me down - me and thousands of other motorists.  We spent the night sleeping on the floor of the breakfast nook in a Holiday Inn, along with lots of other stranded travelers.  A state trooper told me every church in town was full of people, that rescue teams were working hard to get stranded motorists out of cars out on the interstate  I didn't get home until two days later.

I've got lots of snow stories to tell because I've been caught out on the road by blizzards before.  Sometimes I knew they were coming, expected them, and took the chance anyway.  Sometimes, though, I got caught by surprise.  I'm a good snow and ice driver due to experience with it, and I've owned 4-wheel drive vehicles for a long time.  I drove from Flagstaff to Albuquerque once on the worse black ice I've ever seen, and 4-wheel drive isn't a lot of help on pure ice.  I don't recall ever doing that again.

Today the nation is gripped by cold, dangerous weather.  Even here in central Texas, it's bad.  More freezing rain and sleet predicted, more extreme cold tonight . . . but a friend up in the Oklahoma panhandle said it didn't get above 13 degrees there yesterday.  And in Oklahoma City, they're socked in with ice and snow.  Oklahoma State and OU play football today in that weather, and I'm sure the stands will be full of people.  Young people can handle the cold better than old farts like me.  I'll get out just long enough today to check on my shop across town, and that's it.  Yeah, I'm old . . . and smarter . . . and with nothing of real importance to do.  And I'll worry some about the people who can't stay inside today, like those brave folks who risk life and limb to get stranded motorists out of disabled vehicles.  I'll worry for the troopers, wrecker drivers, truckers, firemen, snowplow operators, or anyone else trying to help people in trouble due to weather.  Yeah, I btecha they watch the weather reports.  Good luck, guys.