Painting a rosy picture of Aroostook
BUG GUTS & BEAUTY
By Orpheus Allison
Weather is one of the truly marketable products of American television as a proverbial safe topic for discussion between mixed persons (fancy way of saying men and women.) Much is made of the weather report.
Once the report is given then it becomes a challenge to see if the weatherman is correct. The bets and wagers department appreciates the odds that the weatherman will make someone’s day or disaster.
An early job in the studio was the cleaning of the weather boards. Today, the weatherman will stand in front of a green screen and with some electronic gimmickry behind him will appear a map or photo with the information he wants to use. In earlier times the maps were made from fabric, covered with glass, and the weather guy would take a jar of tempera paint and draw the various high and low systems with the paint. Usually done a half hour or so before the newscast, this material would dry and look really cool on the television sets of the time. Before the next show the boards would have to be cleaned. Using window washer fluid, elbow grease, and lots of paper towels some studio technician would be tasked with the job of cleanup. Not a fun job but one that guaranteed employment.
Today all this work is accomplished with software programs and computers. As the weather reports have grown more accurate so too have the toys to present the information.
Each weathercaster has his own quirks and charm. Some are pedantic to a fault, always wanting to give a lesson rather than the weather or cracking old jokes that should have been left in the crypt with the mummy. Occasionally one would offer up a phrase that carried much more information and bears repeating. These warm sunny days have been long overdue. What should have been the norm in July and August waited until now to pop into the region. Blue skies, warm temperatures and the need to generate business are the hallmark of American weather casts. Days like these are of particular interest for one of my former colleagues.
The Chamber of Commerce is out there trying to sell businesses and professionals on the idea that this is a great place to live, work, and make money. If one stops into their office there are hundreds of pictures showcasing the region and specific areas. Common to all these pictures are the sunny skies. There will not be shots of the whiteouts, drenching rain, mud and black flies. Instead they will be grand vistas of clear blue skies with friendly clouds, fields of green and gold waving in the gentle breeze and bucolic animals happily roaming the landscape.
My weather colleague would call these pictures “Chamber of Commerce” pictures. On days like these the Chamber would be calling in all sorts of favors to get pictures on air. This is what Aroostook looks like all the time! Be a part of the sunny side of the world and locate your business here. It always looks like this.
Weathermen, broadcasters, and a catch phrase bring a bit of amusement to the late summer. Best to enjoy it while you can.
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in the County. He began his journalism career at WAGM television later working in many different areas of the US. After twenty years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea. Graduating from UMPI he earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina.
