A Hurricane in Ireland?

When I moved here for Reno, I don't think hurricanes were even on my list of possibilities. I mean I grew up near New Orleans and there, hurricanes are a way of life. But in Ireland?

It was a strange experience for a number of reasons. First, I am used to being in the midst of such big events, yet walking about three blocks in that wind showed me that walking the three miles I am from the beach would have been dangerous and stupid. So I came home and watched to see how things would unfold on the Irish media instead.

They see the logic in only offering information on television only when they actually have something new to report. So it was regular programming with constant crawls about closures and information. They just don't buy into that need to regurgitate the same information every 15 minutes when there's nothing new to say. Instead, radio is the king of emergencies here. And of course, the newspapers.

While most Irish stayed in and stayed home and all transportation came to standstill, meaning no buses, trains, taxis or trams anywhere! There were lots of stories about crazy Americans heading to the beach at any cost to be able to see the waves for themselves. There were even a couple of dedicated swimmers who made it through barricades to the diving platforms, jumped off and swam to shore at the height of the winds.

I don't know if I've gotten too old for it, but for decades it was my job to be in the midst of big events like that. Since I wasn't being paid to be there, I hunkered down in my wee house and got a whole new perspective on the coverage of a storm, in a place where the weather isn't even part of the newscast. The weather folks have their own 5 minute broadcast after the news, and it's all by government meteorologists, who aren't worried about their hair, or making jokes or showing cute photos. Just calm, clear facts. I kinda liked it. Funny how perspectives change.