Radio Days: Snowmagedeon
06/01/25 07:56
January 6, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 2) - The weekend blizzard in the Kansas City area evoked in me some vivid memories of my days in broadcast news. For local newsrooms, snow storms and other forms of bad weather are like covering the Super Bowl. Not everyone is interested in what the city council has done nor the what the local planning commission proposes. But everyone has a stake in the weather. I accumulated a lot of anecdotes about covering snowstorms during my days as a radio journalist. Do you remember that famous Volkswagen commercial which asked "Have you ever wondered how the man who drives the snow plow gets to the snow plow?" Of course, he drives a VW, a rear engine car that gives one great traction driving in the snow. I decided to borrow my wife's VW to drive on snowy Sunday afternoon my radio station in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, during a late winter 1980 snow storm. I got to the station with no trouble at all. Getting out was another issue altogether. I ended up spending the night at the station, a place where there was no food and hard floors nonconductive for restful sleep. Of course, that was better than the time I was a morning DJ at a radio station in Madison, Indiana. The station is located on top of Telegraph Hill. One icy morning, my VW was unable to navigate the hill. I'd go up 10 feet and then slide backwards. So, I parked it at the bottom and hiked up the winding driveway. I ended up signing on the station 45 minutes late. Then there was the time in North Carolina, when local meteorologists predicted a massive snow event for the Research Triangle Area. Our newsroom was ramped up for Snowmagedeon. Unfortunately for us, we ended up with egg on our faces when the predicted blizzard never materialized. Of course, my snow stories are not limited to my radio days. After I left broadcasting to take a position in public affairs in North Carolina state government, I thought "At last, I will no longer have to venture out into snow storms to tell people about something they already know." Silly me. As a member of the State Emergency Response Team, I was expected to go to the State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh even when other state employees got to stay home. The first time I was called in due to bad weather, I almost successfully navigated the seven miles from my home to the EOC. However, I got within two blocks of the place when my car skidded on some ice, hit the curb hard, and bent the car's frame. On another occasion, one where there was no way I could get my car out of the driveway, damned if they didn't send someone with a four-wheel drive truck to get me. (My wife wasn't pleased to be left at home alone overnight during a blizzard.) Of course, during the nearly 30 years I was on the faculty of the University of Kansas, they rarely shut down the school because of snow. (Ironically, in the wake of this weekend's blizzard, they have today!) For those of you familiar with Lawrence, Kansas, will know that navigating the hills near the campus on icy roads can be a life-altering event. The good news regarding this weekend's blizzard is that I am retired and don't have to go anywhere - as long as there is plenty of food and Irish whiskey. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.