No music tonight, folks. What? I've worn my YT playlist to death.
2:12a
So this was something fun my friend and I put together, to help better us with our interviewing skills. He asked questions, I answered them. Simple, right? We picked weather as the subject (we're both die-hard weather nuts). Came across this the other night, so though I'd share..enjoy.
BR: Okay, let's start from the beginning. How did you become interested with meteorology?
JR: I was nine. Our home was hit by an EF-4 tornado on November 21, 1992. My mom and I were at home, and had just enough time to duck in the hallway before it hit. Thankfully, we were okay. Lost the house, and had to move temporarily while they rebuilt. The tornado was very unique in that it occurred during the Fall..very unseasonable. Not only that, but a tornado that strong just isn't very common here in southeast Texas. When I learned all of this..years later when the internet was just getting going (yes, I'm old enough to remember that!), that sparked my curiosity. I had to know more.
BR: But you didn't fall in love with it right away.
JR. I lived in fear. I'd see a dark cloud and go scrambling for cover! I was curious, however, about the why and the how. Why did it happen? HOW did it happen? What causes these things? One year after the storm, my dad bought me my very first weather book, and I read that thing from cover to cover. I could not bring myself to read the section on tornadoes for the obvious reason, but I still read it. I wanted to understand it better. But I was scared of it; I'm talking, I had just read up on clouds and what the different formations mean, and I saw a really awful looking sky one afternoon. I knew the signs...I was home alone, so I ran to the neighbor's house! I was about 12. It was a dumb move on my part, because I was in such a panic, I accidentally locked myself out of my own house! My dad was pretty mad. *laughs*
BR: So what was the turning point for you?
JR: A few years later, after watching a bad storm roll through, I'm sitting by my closet with the dog, ready to jump in at any second, and it's like lightning struck (no pun intended). I'm thinking, 'why the hell am I doing this to myself? It hasn't happened again, but when and if it does, you know what to do!' After that day, I finally accepted what was, put it behind me, and that's when I started to respect the weather. I realized I'd been missing out on the more beautiful side of mother nature. It was time to turn things around. I knew what I wanted to do.
BR: But the fire hadn't been lit yet. What happened to push you out of that closet, so to speak.
JR: Two things: 'Storm Chasers,' and Hurricane Ike. When Ike hit, it was my first hurricane I've ever ridden out. I was really nervous; I have no experience with these things! *laughs* So we set up a safe room in my parents' closet. I stayed there all night, listening to the wind howl, and praying a tree wouldn't come crashing through the living room. Although I was pretty anxious, a side of me was wishing the hurricane had hit during the day, so I could take pictures. I had no camera to film with back then; only my Kodak digital camera, and the video feature sucks. So there I sat, waiting for it to pass so we could survey the damage. No tree through our living room! So there I'm sitting, with no electricity, no internet, no phone to call and see if everyone else is okay, just my thoughts. I had to sit through 12 hours of wind and rain, and nothing to show for it. That's when I said 'I *want* it. I want to go through another one. I want that adrenaline rush. I want to see stuff ripping apart, not just see it on tv.' Then I said, 'crap! I need a camera first!' Of course, I buy the damn camera, and *nothing* happens! *laughs* Just can't catch a break!
BR: And 'Storm Chasers'?
JR: The show came on in 2007. Finally, a show that I could get into! Ha. Sean Casey built this huge, I'm talking HUGE tank for driving into tornadoes. I had the chance to meet him, and see the tank called 'TIV.' It was amazing. I loved the show, but not the drama the network seemed to create. I think they painted the chasers in a bad light. See, the chaser community is like a tight-knit family. They all look out for each other. There's going to be some tension, for sure; living on top of a group of people for 8 weeks out of the year will surely have its effect. Unless you're going solo, however, and there are some that do. They chase just for the thrill of it. That's what I want to do, and then some.
BR: What are your goals?
JR: The top of the list? Simple: to help people. To give back. Public awareness and education. Teach people that as long as you stay calm, you'll increase your chance of survival that much more. Knowing what to do if it ever happened to you. Never say it can't happen to you! So many people came to my family's aid after the storm. One story my dad told me has always stuck with me, even to this day: there was a man who'd lost everything in the storm. He went around the entire neighborhood, passing out brown bag lunches to people. He had nothing, but that didn't stop him. I want to do stuff like that.
BR: What goes around comes around.
JR: Exactly!
BR: Your goals, meteorologically speaking?
JR: To learn what exactly causes tornadoes to form. To better understand them. To find out why two identical supercells wouldn't both produce a tornado. What does one have that the other one doesn't? Technology is getting better everyday, and I have a feeling I'll see some advancement in my lifetime. Answers. I want to be a part of that. I want to chase a storm, and capture it on film. I want the thrill of a lifetime, as they call it. But most of all, I want to leave my mark on the world, and maybe inspire other people to do so as well. There's a reason I was put here on this Earth. I'm not going to waste it.
BR: Study, study, study!
JR: Yes! That's the best place to start. Get familiar with your terms. If you want it bad enough, it will happen. The other details will fall into place. And, like Reed Timmer always says, 'Never stop chasing.'
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