Random Thoughts (4.17.10)

By Sally G. Yoder

This column will every so often offer up some thoughts and reflections on times past, the present and perhaps a touch or two on the future. St. Pete Beach Today is always looking to add some different and interesting reading to this unique website, so I hope you enjoy these “random thoughts”!

Mother Nature, true to her form, always has the last word in the life of weather and our daily existence. What we do, where we go, when we travel and how we plan vacations, parties and sporting events, all revolve around what the weather will be doing.

How many times have we heard, "We'll eat outside if it doesn't rain;" "We can always get a rain check for a game;" "Tee off time is 8 a.m., weather permitting;" "We'll launch the boat at 10, but bring the rain gear;" and my favorite, "I brought my umbrella just in case."

People say they tune into the TV news to get the weather report, with world news and local problems coming in second to a storm forecast. The former "Evening Independent" newspaper gave its copies away free if there was no sunshine by press time. (They gave away very few free papers!) But imagine the cost of a whole newspaper press run influenced by the sun!

Farmers, airlines, resorts, ships, construction, schools and the movement of goods round the world, are all dependent upon the weather. A snowstorm can cause gridlock worse than the L.A. Freeway system, rain can wipe out rail bridges that take weeks to repair and cold winds and rain can set a tourist season upside down.

But all the predicting, charts, equipment, star gazing and rain dances don't faze Mother Nature and her dramatic acts! As hurricanes come and go, doing damage or at least causing a scurry, the sun comes up and the day ends with its disappearance in a spectacular show. As rains and droughts prevail in alternating periods, we try to adjust. Storm shutters, evacuation efforts to be prepared, funnel clouds, El Nino and snow plows have become household words. Probably no single event influences our living patterns as much as the weather.

So as we go on, predicting, promising and trying to outguess the tides, the wind and the rain, the last and final word remains with Mother Nature herself. She is in total control! Umbrella anyone?

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