Foot Fault

Two phrases that are cemented in my brain from more than three decades in journalism:

1. "Things like this just never happen here!"

(This is not a tease for a Columbine reflection. I'll deal with that separately.)

2. "If you don't like the weather here today, just wait an hour (a day) (until tomorrow)."

The photo up there? I'll try anything, but I'm pretty sure I've no shot at success as a foot model. But it was the best way I could tell you I comfortably walked out to get the paper this morning in my bare foot. (The other one is even homelier)

So what's the big deal? Let me show you what it looked like here three days ago.

I've lived in five states. I've been to all 50 of them. I've listened to radio and watched TV in most of them. I didn't take or keep notes but I'd take bets that I've heard both those phrases in at least 90 percent of those places.



There is no accuracy to the first phrase anywhere!

The second one....on the weather?


I grew up in Los Angeles where the weatherman seriously needed a gimmick just to fill the time he (no women in weather those days) was allotted. Were he to import that phrase into his forecast? It would read something like this.

"If you don't like the weather here today, just wait six months and we might get a half inch of rain."

But here in Colorado a Spring storm is a true example of the "be prepared for anything" weather reality. It does change quick and dramatically.

We had sixteen inches of snow when these pictures were taken three days ago.

Today all the golf courses are open, and men and women are playing on them. The tennis courts are dry. The grass is green. The tulips are smiling. The doves are back to their love and nest making. Thanks to the sun all the bike paths are cleared and next week we could be talking drought.

Just thought you'd like to see some of these snow pictures if phrase number two is just something they SAY in your neighbor hood. (Chicago Boston and Western Kansas can put on some incredibly quick and dramatic weather changes. I'll bet my friend Susan Kelley would include Detroit)

I'll bet I heard Phrase number one a hundred times during our coverage of Columbine. It impacted an entire metropolitan area, and ultimately the world. And for a while people stopped saying that doesn't happen here. I'm going to devote a separate entry to that horrible event later today. What I write will likely be more for me than you, but I also think it will be worth sharing.

Any way the Sun today, tomorrow maybe an up slope system will bring the snow back, and then on Thursday we'll get some Chinook winds that will dry everything up again.