Getting closer to 30 I am... amazing how much like 13 I still feel. The world is a young place these days. When I was in grade school looking at the adults around me, I always wondered if I would become like that. Serious, losing my childhood to time and the work around me. But here I am about to turn 27 while waiting for more Super Mario Brothers plush dolls to arrive from Hong Kong and hoping for a couple of goofy t-shirts for my birthday next week. Yeah... I'm happy I haven't hit that point yet.
With my birthday comes winter, and with winter comes SDS... Stormtrack becomes an interesting (and often humerous) online venue this time of year. You can always count on bickering among the herds which I account to a lack of weather to chase. This year particularly... I mean, looks at us here in Denver. I'm about to write BORING all over my 7News forecasts.
In a thread started at some point last week, a chaser posted an ad in regards to a 30 minute DVD he was selling covering the Greensburg tornado. Obviously the video shot was his own, and for a $25 price tag, I'm sure its worth the watch. Almost immediately, a reply was posted by a well-repected chaser asking if the proceeds were going to profit. Off-the-bat, I thought that was putting this chaser on the spot and certainly had a few WTF thoughts on that. Later on, he posted his rebuttle which was more than enough to simmer me down. I have a lot of respect for the chaser who "put on the spot" the video's author, and while I didn't agree with the call-out, I'm quick to forgive the jump and certainly hold nothing against him for asking. Could it have been handled better; sure! Couldn't anything be handled better? Personally, I could care less where his profits went! And while it may sound selfish, I don't think I'd consider donating what few sales I do make away unless the event hit close to home. Trust me, if an EF-5 wiped out my hometown (Circleville, Ohio), I would be the front-runner to help with that! However, I feel pretty good about making a contribution somehow, hence why I've produced chapters for the charity DVD for the last couple of years. Its my tiny way of helping out those that have been affected by the weather we pursue.
But, in true chaser form (unfortunately), an explosion occured in the thread, and the tides turned from video donation to a slam at veteran chasers and their lack of respect for us "Twister-era yahoos". I quote that cause that is not my opinion. Obviously I stemmed from the Twister-era regardless where my interest began. Only by bad timing does my chasing coincide with Twister. The movie was in theaters before I could drive, and chasing on foot wasn't very practical. So call me a victim of circumstance if you really feel the need to classify chasers in that regard.
Yes, there are idiots running through the country roads and sending the goodie-goodies into panic about how bad chasing is looking. Yes, there is jealousy and anger in the highly over-saturated video market. Yes, there are people who found a niche and are making money, good money, from chasing. And yes, I've fallen victim to instances of all of those. But who cares? I certainly don't!
What I do care about are my friends in chasing, which are a high mix of "Twister-era yahoos", "money-hoarding bastards", and "egotistical old farts". As I've said a million times in the past, more than any other reason in the world, I chase because of the company I get to chase with! And that mix of people, regardless of their experience, has accepted me and the quirks I bring out. Outside of that group, I'm fine with people. Yes, there are a few, but for the most part, I manage to make nice with just about everyone with little "faking" needed. I have a respect for anyone who does this, regardless of their means, goals, and reasons.
Bottom line, you make what you want of this, and some want to make war out of things. Chasing is not going change; people aren't going to stop being Yahoos; and that needs to accepted. And amazingly enough, chasing isn't the only thing in the world suffering from this. But as with anything, make what you can out of what you have, and if you're doing it, have fun and worry about not getting sucked into the vortex. Like with the weather, whatever happens happens. Just enjoy what you have. And if its that bad, go elsewhere.
On a lighter note, and a humerous point of how I've been accepted by my fellow chasers, I was called out on another thread in Stormtrack. My reputation for being a childish Mario-loving yahoo landed me 90 second of a great laugh!
Thanks Fred for passing that along!
