“Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” I had always thought the first to say it was Benjamin Franklin. No, when it comes to weather, Ben Franklin said: “Some people are weatherwise, some are otherwise.” The first to conceive that brilliant observation regarding no solution to weather complaints is often credited to Mark Twain. Wrong again!
Charles Dudley Warner was the first to say that famous quip. Warner was a friend of Twain’s. As a matter-of-fact, they co-wrote “The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.” I had never heard of the book, but after researching, I think I may want to read it. Although it was first published in 1873, it’s description might mirror what is going on in today’s world.
The Gilded Age is both a biting satire and a revealing portrait of post-Civil War America-an age of corruption when crooked land speculators, ruthless bankers, and dishonest politicians voraciously took advantage of the nation’s peacetime optimism. With his characteristic wit and perception, Mark Twain and his collaborator, Charles Dudley Warner, attack the greed, lust, and naivete of their own time in a work which endures as a valuable social document and one of America’s most important satirical novels.
I love satire, and although I have authored a few articles of satire, it is very difficult to write. But, back to the weather.
The National Weather Service and television stations now have apps, up-to-date alerts, and every other invention to warn us about upcoming weather events. What those media outlets are not timely about are thunderstorms that originate over your head. Stephanie and I look at radar before heading out on a walk. Recently, she looked at radar for our immediate area and saw no signs of rain. She took off on her daily 6-mile walk. Upon reaching the 3-mile mark, she turned around to come back home. It was then that a storm erupted over her head. It was not just rain and some wind, there were little pellets of hail accompanying the storm. I walked out to greet her with a towel. As always, she was smiling.
Predicting the weather is not rocket science, but it is science. Meteorologists should not be held to a perfections standard, but with all the bells and whistles used in this field, accuracy should be close, at least.
We’ll take responsibility for checking radar sites prior to walking on the trail. However, a few days after the pop-up storm, I was looking forward to attending an annual party in rural Iowa. Forecasters were warning us that a major storm was going to brew over the party site, 60 miles from Des Moines. The wind was going to blow hard; the rain was going to be torrential; and “one or two tornadoes” could be a part of the storm.
A day before our intended trip to rural Iowa, we experienced a problem with the windshield wipers. It sounded as if the wiper motor was about to give up its soul and die on us at any minute. With a forecast of Noah’s flood in front of our drive, we decided it was best not to “throw caution to the wind” and remain home. I was disappointed.
I kept looking at weather reports and radar for that part of Iowa. Nothing! No wind; no rain; no hail; no “one or two tornadoes.”
Since the party was a potluck, I was tempted to call DoorDash. Not for that service to get me something from around here, but to drive to the party and bring me back some pulled pork, sides, and desserts. The variety of foods at the annual potluck present the best smorgasbord you’ll ever experience.
We have to wait an entire year before we have the chance to attend one of the only parties we try to attend throughout the year. All because the television stations, the National Weather Bureau, and other outlets of weather prediction efficiency failed to predict a popup storm with any iota of accuracy.
Now, we have to get the windshield wipers’ motor repaired, although I doubt we will be driving in any future storms for a long time to come. Unless, of course, a dark cloud travels above us on our rural Iowa ventures. We’re getting a little too familiar with dark clouds.
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