It has been an interesting weather week. On Tuesday I experienced my first earthquake, a 5.8 magnitude centered in Virginia but felt up and down the eastern seaboard. Hey, the bottom of my chair vibrated, but at least I didn’t lose my balance! Now we are bracing for Hurricane Irene, a category one storm expected to slam our area with lots of rain and damaging winds. The weather forecasters and media have been on a feeding frenzy, like a school of pirañas chasing a pound of beef. The earthquake dominated the news cycle with images of streets filled with confused masses gazing skyward or talking on their cell phones. Now it’s live coverage of waves crashing onto some deserted pier or an unlucky weatherman being pelted by wind and rain so we can tell the storm is on its way.
If I sound cynical it’s only because our 24-hour news environment has created a need for drama that once was reserved for a 30 minute nightly news broadcast. Tuning in to watch Walter Cronkite share the only images we would likely see that day of the latest flood, snowstorm, or other natural disaster made a date with our television actually seem worthwhile. Now I can’t escape the impending catastrophe. It’s dominating Facebook wall posts and hash tags on Twitter, even preempting the Little League World Series game on my local network affiliate. Is the danger real or some virtual reality fueled by our need to be informed?
Perhaps we are simply addicted to the notion that media reporting is no longer just a spectator sport. Everyone with a smart phone, digital recorder, or internet access can post their version of the disaster as it unfolds. You can regale your friends with commentary about the amount of rain, post photos of the tree limb now resting on your neighbor’s fancy sports car, or lament the lack of snacks in your pantry. Amateur video leads the evening news as breathless anchors describe the magnitude of the event. It’s all so surreal!
Even I don’t wish for a return to the 60’s version of news and information. Yet, a part of me longs for the time when waiting for Irene will mean lighting a few candles (just in case the power goes out), grabbing a good book, settling in on the couch with my wife at my side, and letting Mother Nature do the rest. Care to join me? Oops, wait a minute. My iPad just chimed with an update on the latest track of the storm. Can I get back to you on that idea?
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