Weather or not to believe your eyes in Florida.

'Weather' or not to believe your eyes in Florida.

It is because of the weather, that I first realised just how much of a
cynic and behind the times my neighbour is.

As I stood outside my front door in a heavy waterproof coat, sheltering
under my umbrella, my neighbour approached me in a tee-shirt, shorts
and sandals. I could tell straight away that he had not listened to the
weather report, which I had listened to just a few moments earlier.
Puzzled, he looked up and asked me if we were expecting rain. It was
another case, on his part, of believing what one sees with their eyes,
rather than unequivocally accepting 'official' reports and
statements.

The weather forecaster had categorically stated just moments ago that
it was raining over my area and would continue to do so for at least
another 30 minutes. Normally I would flick through the various local TV
channels until I found one which closest matched what my eyes were
seeing and what 'felt' the right temperature, but the other channels
were not broadcasting at that moment in time. The facts were that the
'apparent' cloudless sunny skies were not 'official'.

I had already previously tried to educate my Neanderthal friend that he
really should come to terms with the modern way of thinking, as opposed
to the old-fashioned ways of believing what you experience
first-hand.
If the experts on TV and the officials in the newspapers say it is so,
then it is so - end of story! He had already exasperated me yesterday
when he related the account by his two friends who are fireman. Namely
that they had witnessed several cars turned over and a roof ripped off
a house just 80 miles away from us. The fact that the official weather
reporters had stated afterwards that it was not 'officially' a tornado
should have been enough for him. And I know for a fact that several of
the 'very official' weather channels have radar systems which can
"Pinpoint events right down to individual streets&;#8230;". So if
they say it didn't happen, in spite of the video footage, then it
didn't happen! The same is true of temperatures. I no longer rely on
the three thermometers strategically placed around my home outside.
Modern man has the luxury of choosing between several TV channels with
which to find one that closest compares to what one sees and feels
first-hand, or would prefer to believe they are experiencing.

Some days, my thermometers are more inaccurate than others, even when
listening to the two sets of temperatures some weather programs
announce, which exclude or include the 'heat index'. If the 'official'
temperature (heat index included) is announced as 100 degrees, while my
thermometers read 110 degrees, it's simply a case of my thermometers
being conspiratorially and collaboratively temperamental that
day!

My Neanderthal neighbour has the hardest time accepting 'official
announcements' when it comes to 'rain forecasts'. In particular, he
dogmatically insists that a forcasted 50\\% chance of rain tomorrow, is
the same as saying it is a 50\\% chance it won't rain which, in plain
English, means (in his words), "Who the hell knows if it is going to
rain or not - it is an even bet either way."

I have tried to explain that 'official' reports and statements, by the
very nature that they are by experts, inevitably backed up by millions
of dollars of highly sophisticated technology, means that 'Official' is
'Right'. Similarly, simply experiencing something first-hand, does not
make it so unless, of course, an official expert confirms it. And how
ridiculous to imagine or expect an expert to announce, "Who the hell
knows&;#8230;". Experts and officials always know!

The 'official expert network' didn't just appear overnight. It has
taken a long time for the system to develop, that enables an expert
hundreds, maybe thousands of miles away from an event that occurred (or
perhaps did not occur), to be able to assure the general public at
large exactly what did or did not happen.
I refuse to be drawn into the debate with my neighbour about
'conflicting reports' between experts. Or that 'official reports' may
be changed as time goes by.
Regarding the 'apparent variations' of rain and temperature forecasts
from channel to channel, it is clearly a case of simply giving the
'consumer as diverse a choice as possible&;#8230;'

I have come to learn that 'official reports' and 'experts' are not
wrong, even if a report states one thing today and another thing
tomorrow. Even though, as an example, in 1998 a major newspaper stated
that 500,000 acres had burned across Florida as a result of wildfires,
corroborated by many other sources, and then a year later an Associated
Press report stated it had been 50,000 acres, I have no difficulty
accepting both statements are true, and am grateful for having been
given a choice of which statement I preferred. What is so difficult
about that?

The problem with people like my neighbour is, that by not adapting to
the new way of thinking of our modern society, they are troublemakers,
dissenters and probably anarchists too! Anarchists, because society at
large is at risk if their ways of thinking are perpetuated.
Furthermore, it is probably unscientific to rely on one's own
experiences, especially as many experiences only occur as 'one-off
events'. The unofficial tornado being a prime example! It wasn't
measured, hasn't happened again in the same place, and apart from
anecdotal accounts from the firemen, the owners of the cars and
building damaged, and some video-footage, it was NOT 'official'.

Next time, before you step outside your door, try and remember that
what you are seeing and experiencing, and what is 'officially
happening', may not be the same. Do I really need to tell you which to
be guided by?

Copyright (officially) by David Taub, Ukpoet@aol.com, September,
2000

If you enjoyed reading this piece and/or have any comments, you are
welcome to email me at UKpoet@aol.com

David Taub is a member of
The British organisation 'National Union of Journalists' (NUJ);
Columnist for the UK magazine 'Poetry Now';
Freelance writer for various UK and USA magazines;
Co-author of Language of Souls (listed on amazon.com)
Website: www.ukpoet.cjb.net