Listeners Remember the Strangest Things [PHIL-OSOPHY]

I can prep enough stories for the entire show, but many days the one that was much lower in the pile turns out to be the jewel that makes the phones glimmer.

On the morning of January 22, for instance, there were quite a few big, important local and national news stories. So who would have guessed that just a minute's blurb out of the entire four hours would turn out to be the most memorable part of the program for some of the talk-show connoisseurs? I've got a thought about why this is happening to audiences that I'll share with you, but first, back to January 22.

I was just ending a recap of Chelsea Priest's ABC6 Storm Tracker forecast, saying something like, "Speaking of changes in the weather, on this date 78 years ago in Spearfish, South Dakota, at about 7:30 a.m., the temperature was four below zero when mysterious Chinook winds descended very quickly, picking up speed, and in two minutes, the temperature rose to a balmy 45 degrees. A phenomenal 49 degree upswing in just two minutes! And it continued, by 9 a.m., the thermometer showed an unbelievable 54 degrees. As the Chinook winds started dying down, it only took 27 minutes for the temperature to tumble from 54 to back down to -4 below again. The rapid fluctuation caused everything to immediately frost over, cracking windows and such, and it also set a record that hasn't been broken since."

So why was this story so memorable? A lot of folks are uneasy and desensitized to the news. We're living in very careworn and anxious times. Between COVID-19, the election, the economy and such, life is unpredictable and it can change like the weather. And what do you do when the weather drastically changes? You dress accordingly, but many of us don't.

I'd be lax not to tell you the Chinook phenomena is named after the Chinook Indians, who were the first people to tell stories of "The Great South Wind," or, in their language, "The Snow Eater."

If you're one of the restless ones, just take a nice long breath and keep living. I've come to accept that "snow eater sweater weather" eventually gives way to better weather.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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