My dad would have had a hey day with this weather.  Sitting in front of the TV, seeing that in Nebraska today we have had a record breaking low, blizzards, thunderstorms, high winds and flooding all in the same day would have fascinated him.  He would have spent hours glued to the TV.  Like many older people, there is something exciting about watching crazy weather happening around the country and there is only one place they can get all the info.  The Weather Channel.

24 hours a day, every day, nothing but weather.  And the effects of weather.  And extreme weather. And why planes crash.  Like that EVER needs to be a show.  Hours and hours of all things meteorological.  Maybe it’s because at an advanced age, you’ve probably seen everything and it’s a challenge to see something new.  I mean, you’ve seen one blizzard, tornado, hurricane, hail storm, you’ve seen them all all, right?  But there’s another element I think.  The distinct fear that if there is a major anything, they’ll be trapped without enough food, electricity, or other essentials and so they have to remain glued to the weather channel for information.  Life is scarier as you get older.

But I’m also talking about those people who watch weather happening hundreds or even thousands of miles away from them so they can email or text or call the nearest family member to ask about them.  I must admit, my husband and I do this too.  A little too much rain in Kentucky and my husband is on the phone to see if it’s flooding in the holler.  Yes, I said holler, which translates to hollow to all my Nebraska friends, of which we have none.  Anyway, then it’s a conversation of just how much water there is, nothing like what happened when he was a kid, blah, blah, blah.  It’s a big deal.

We have a game at my house just to see if they ever mention Nebraska during the weather.  After all, we’re flyover country and nobody lives here, right?  But today they not only mentioned Nebraska, they had a Weather Channel guy in Scottsbluff!!  Not to talk about people of course, but to talk about cattle.  And seeing as there are more cattle in that part of the state than people, it was probably appropriate.  Making sure I’m not seeming flippant here, as this is a big deal because ranchers will see many cattle die during this storm.  Not a good thing.  And when those newspeople talk about making sure they get back to a town before it gets too bad where they are in the middle of nowhere, they’re not kidding.  It’s the difference between life and death.

And maybe that’s the draw here.  We’re transfixed by the awesome power of Mother Nature, both its beauty and its destructive force.  To think that all around the world, natural disasters happen and despite humans thinking we’re all that, Mother Nature has us beat.  It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are, what color, gender, religion or culture you are, Mother Nature can strike without caring.  It’s amazing and terrifying at the same time.  Maybe it’s because it’s beyond our control that as older people we watch it with such intensity.  Young people always think they’re invincible, older people know we’re not and that life can be short.

So yes, I admit I checked into the Weather Channel a bit today but mostly to make sure we weren’t going to get a bunch of snow out of this.  After all, it got up to 64 degrees today with a bit of sunshine.  I finally felt hopeful that spring was here.  But tomorrow we’ll wait to see how much rain/snow we’re going to get because Mother Nature is still in charge and will decide when spring will officially arrive, no matter how I want to feel.  And when it does arrive, it will be on The Weather Channel.