Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Obsessions

Written by Joselyn Vaughn

I’ve taken to following a blog of one of our local weathermen. He posts about upcoming weather predictions, current conditions and cool meteorological phenomena. Several of the blog followers are storm chasers or spotters who report conditions in their area. Someday I think it would be cool to take one of the classes for storm spotting. After watching the show Storm Chasers, I’m not sure I’d like to do the actual on the road tracking of a storm. Watching the windows smash out of a vehicle as it meets a tornado head on was scary enough. I wouldn’t want to be in the vehicle.

Several of the people who follow this blog must also watch the show. During the discussion of the last storm system, they were commenting about a member of one of the crews chasing storms in our area. Pictures of funnel clouds, wall clouds, etc. were posted on the crews Facebook page. Having seen the types of storms that these guys normally chase – and knowing that these storms rarely hit West Michigan, but that we’ve also had a very unusual winter and early spring – makes me a bit nervous.

When a storm system approaches, I bounce between this blog and the various looping radars on the National Weather Service website to see where the storm is tracking and whether it will hit our area. I’m not sure where my obsession with weather came from, but it certainly helped when writing about Elmer in The Warden’s Lantern. He is a former storm-chaser, meteorologist, and engineer, who evaluates storm damage. He has to use these skills to figure out what he and Barbara saw out in the woods.


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When lost love shows up on your doorstep, what do you do? Minnie Schultz slams the door in his face. She and Gordon Anderson have a history—close to ancient history, given the fifty years since their last encounter. After all that time, it might seem like water under the bridge. But the water pours from the plumbing in Minnie’s bed and breakfast, the Lilac Bower, uncovering all the secrets and heartache between them. With the help of some paranormal investigators, an Elvis impersonator and a couple of nosey friends, can Minnie and Gordon find the future they were meant to have?

5 comments:

  1. I have to admit, I keep track of the weather, too. I like to know what I'm going to be up against when I go out. I'm looking forward to reading about Elmer!

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  2. It's good to know what's going on, especially in the case of severe weather. I'm always surprised by how many people are out and about during a blizzard. I'd rather stay home.

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  3. I should add Elmer and Barbara are the paranormal investigators in Hauntings of the Heart.

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  4. I used to keep track of the weather madly because I was terrified of tornadoes. Fortunately, I overcame that fear many years ago so now I usually don't even pay attention unless my power goes out or a friend calls to tell me to pay attention. :-) But I do like watching Storm Chasers, though!

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  5. I really liked the show. I think it drove my husband nuts, especially because I watched it on Netflix and could sit through several episodes in a row. I'm hoping they will add more seasons soon.

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