The word "HURRICANE" strikes fear in my heart. No, not because of the actual danger of weather but because the Weather Channel lets Jim Cantore out of his cage and sends him to North Carolina, Florida, or wherever they can take a picture of him standing outside in a windbreaker getting hit in the face with driving rain while holding a microphone. Jim, cousin to Maria Bartiromo the Grim Reaper of CNBC who excitedly reports stock market crashes, has only one job..."scare the living crap out of everyone."
Through the clever use of stock footage from previous hurricanes, tidal waves, and the movie "Armageddon" Jim single handedly causes a rise in plywood futures, batteries, and the sale of Aquafina Water. His "signature move" is to stand at some lonely beach with the wind blowing and waves crashing in the background. The venue is usually an out island in the path of a hurricane. There is an urgency for him to get there and stake out a location before the surfers get into the water and spoil the shot. The other urgency is to get as much 24 hour breaking news in as he can before the hurricane is downgraded. Hurricane Earl started as a category 4 and by the time it reached Nantucket it was a drizzle.
If Jim had been on Nantucket, the only way he could have gotten wet was if someone turned a hose on him. He had more effect on this island than the weather. As a result of "the sky is falling" round-the-clock coverage by the Weather Channel, inhabitants had no other option but to board up their businesses. The above photo was the Ralph Lauren store on Main Street in Downtown Nantucket. The ferry boats were cancelled, there was a run on toilet paper and water at the Stop and Shop, and everywhere you went, the TV was on with Jim standing in the rain. I hope this guy takes plenty of Zicam. I heard a story last night about him placing himself in danger once again and having to re-shoot because some little old lady with a shopping cart walked by.
Among the most famous moments of Hurricane Earl was when Jim was standing in North Carolina and commented that he could smell pine trees and knew that this meant that branches were broken. I heard a rumor that someone had hung a pine scented car freshener on his microphone. I will have to go back to the archive to see if it is visible, and to see if the little old lady that took her life into her own hands by going outside ever got her Polygrip at the Stop and Shop.
No comments:
Post a Comment