Talking heads
Rita sure is taking her sweet time getting here. Up until about ten minutes ago, I wouldn’t have believed you if you’d told me a major hurricane was gonna blow through tonight. But now the trees whoosh around occasionally, so it’s getting a little more exciting.
One way we’ve been keeping ourselves entertained is by making fun of our least favorite news reporters.
“Field correspondent” on windy boardwalk: So, ma’am, you’ve decided to ride out the storm in your house?
Lady: Well, I tried to evacuate, but we moved 12.2 miles in 14 hours, so we turned around and came home.
FC: And where will you be sheltering during the storm?
Lady: In my house.
FC: …
Lady: In Kemah Oaks.
FC: No, I mean where in your house will you be sheltering?
———
My dad: You know that sofa? The green one? I thought I’d go sit on it.
Most of the newsanchors are doing a better-than-decent job, though, given the monotony of the task in front of them. Twenty-four-hour continuous coverage of *anything* has to be tough to keep up for more than three days. There are only so many different ways to describe the difference between the clean side and the dirty side, or emphasize the need for people in low-lying areas to evacuate, or sympathize with the folks stuck in their cars in triple-digit heat. We only turn the TV on for five or ten minutes every hour—any longer and your eyes glaze over.
Fun thing: One of my favorite news anchors from when I was little, Channel 13’s Shara Fryer, has come out of retirement to help cover the storm, and she’s rockin’ the newsdesk like she never left. (Wtg, Shara—make ‘em pity the day they let you go.) Ah, just like the good old days before all this internet stuff came around, when we could sit back and get all our news read to us from a TelePrompTer.
Still no rain, but we’re expecting it any minute now…
Tags: Hurricane Rita