Weather...or Not: July 2012Entries

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7/31/12

I've been looking at the price of gas this morning. In Mattoon at the Circle K on DeWitt Avenue the price went up over 40 cents between yesterday early morning and yesterday mid morning. At the BP on DeWitt the price went up around 30 cents between yesterday and this morning. The price went up at the stations in Sullivan between yesterday and this morning as well.

So why did the price shoot up so much within a 24 hour period? We are told that a main indicator in the price of our gas is the price of crude oil. Okay…but the price of crude has been around $90 a barrel for at least a month. And for some of that time the price was in the 80's. I looked this morning and sure enough it is still around $90 a barrel.

Is there some disaster at a refinery that I missed this week? Is there a hurricane in the Gulf that somehow missed my attention? Does anyone have any idea why we are paying around 40 cents more for a gallon of gas today than we were yesterday?

7/30/12

Last month I disconnected the cable at our house. It was Mediacom digital cable with a few HD channels…and I never really felt like we were getting our money's worth out of it. We also had Mediacom's broadband internet service and I am more than happy with it. But the cable just never really gave us what I thought it should. So I cancelled the service. We subscribe to Netflix and Hulu and my HBO Go service is still operable. So we are making do.

The one thing that we are not getting right now is local channels, which also means no network coverage. For the first time I understand the big deal with the switch to digital broadcasting. When things were analog you could literally strap some tinfoil to the back of your TV and pick up any channels within 150 miles of you. But with the digital output now I've tried four different HD antennas and the best I could do was barely pick up the broken signal of the TV station where I work! I tried four different indoor antennas and none of them was good enough to pick up these weak-a** signals.

The next alternative is to put an antenna on the outside of the house. But you know what? If I am going to put in that kind of money and effort I may as well subscribe to a satellite service! At least with DirecTV I can wrangle the free NFL package out of them. But as it stands right now we are saving money…which is always good. And oddly enough I don't miss having the networks. I know our station has gone through great expense and trouble to upgrade the power of our signal. But even after all of that it could barely come in at my house in Mattoon. I'm not much when it comes to the technical aspects of television signals. But I am curious to know why these digital signals seem so much weaker than the old analog signals. Anyone?

7/27/12

Well yesterday was a big fat flop. The most rain I have seen from the official totals was .03" in Bloomington. I almost don't even want to tell you when there is a chance for rain anymore. That way if/when we ever get drenched it will be a pleasant surprise. I think even the people that work outside for a living are tired of it being so dry. People have told me that the dirt is starting to pull away from the foundations of their houses. It is really getting ridiculous out there…and it could last through October if the long-range models hold true.

I read yesterday that some are starting to talk about Fukushima's nuclear meltdown being a contributing reason for our drought. I have not yet really dug into the science of the claim. But that disaster from a while back is probably impacting our planet more than we realize.

"Feedback Friday"…

From Jim (7/24/12):

Greg,

My condolences re your Grandfather, but it sounds like he enjoyed a nice long life. I was one of those people who sent him a card and thank you letter for his Honor Flight, and it was my privilege to do so. Being the "Adjutant" of my American Legion, I am responsible for all 300 of our members. A couple weeks ago, we helped put a WWII veteran to rest, which leaves us with only one remaining (esteemed) member from that war era. You'd long ago mentioned your Grandfather's role in one of those infamous A-Bombings but like him, my Father never spoke much about his marching through France, and all the way into Germany. (He served extra time after the war and became a guard at the Nuremberg Prison and Trials.)

I solemnly salute your Grandfather, and all allied veterans of war who served us so honorably and continue to do so.

Thanks, Jim. He did live a long life. My Grandparents decided during their retirement to sell just about everything they owned to buy a mobile home. They took that mobile home to every one of the lower 48 states. Towards the end of their travels they started a run to Alaska to complete the continental portion of our country…but the home broke down and they had to stop. So they didn't quite make it to Alaska…but they made it everywhere else they could drive to in the country. Not many people can make that claim!

I am posting your feedback because I wanted to take a second and thank you for what you do. Your position with the Legion probably doesn't get a lot of notice. But my guess is being in charge or the "Adjutant" of your Legion gives you the opportunity to make quite an impact on the lives of many people. That makes you a bit of an unsung hero in my mind!

That's it for this week, Gregorians. Thank you for the support and for continuing to read this blog after all of these (3) years!

7/26/12

My apologies for a short blog this morning. One of the multitude of things I have to do before the morning news wasn't working properly this morning and it has put me pretty far behind. All I will say about it is that sometimes when we think technology is moving us forward it just makes things unnecessarily more complicated! Sometimes it is okay to just pick up a phone and talk to someone, you know?

Everything went as well as can be expected while I was away. We gave my Grandpa a good send-off. I do want to thank you for your kind thoughts and words. Many of you sent me emails and feedback that I likely won't post here. There is probably only one piece of feedback about my Grandpa that I will post tomorrow for "Feedback Friday".

7/23/12

Do you remember a couple of years ago when I told you about my Grandfather that was taking part in the Honor Flight for WWII veterans? Many of you wrote letters to my Grandfather to thank him for his service. Those letters were given to the vets during their trip as a surprise to read on the plane to Washington, DC. My Grandfather read your letters and he was extremely appreciative.

He was in the Navy during that world war. I won't give you the details because they are not mine to share…but I will tell you that he was witness to one of the bombs we dropped on Japan. Yes…I am talking about one of THOSE bombs. He never told me about it personally because it was rare for him to mention his time in the war. But he did tell my Mom the story once.

This week we will put my Grandfather to rest. He died Last Friday morning about 30 minutes before we began the news. I got the text from my Mom shortly before the news began. A number of times now I have received news like that just before going on the air, either from someone dying or someone getting very ill. It's an odd thing to have to work while your mind is clearly somewhere else.

I will be gone from work tomorrow and Wednesday. Chierek will be filling in. My Grandfather was a big part of my childhood. And of course as we get older and get into our own lives we tend to stray a bit from family. I strayed from him the past few years for one reason or another. But I am happy to say that I saw him not long ago and introduced him to Faye. It was a good visit and we had good conversations and shared some great memories.

Gene Dye (1924-2012)

7/20/12

As I type this blog this morning we are getting more and more information on the shooting at a movie theater in a mall in Aurora, Colorado. Apparently just at the end of the "Dark Knight Rises" one of the movie goers put on a gas mask, let off some kind of gas, and began shooting people. The latest I've heard as of right now is about 20 people injured and the local NBC affiliate in Denver is saying that they believe 10 people are dead.

Not much is known about the shooter(s) at this point. Obviously it will be interesting to see what investigators learn over the next couple of days. Was this a terrorist attack? Was it a tortured soul finally blowing up? Was it a gang thing? We just don't know right now and obviously the focus is on trying to save the victims right now. Scary stuff…to say the least.

"Feedback Friday"!

From John (7/18/12):

I'm in complete agreement with you on these social sites. Some people on there take it to extremes on about everything in their lives. I get on fb to play games and keep up with family members that are far away. I don't bare my soul or tell every single thing I do at any time of the day. I hope you keep up the good work because I enjoy reading your blogs and your sense of humor! Congrats on your recent nuptials, sounds like you got a good woman there!

Hi, John. Yeah…I can't even tell you how lucky I am to have found Faye. She is the perfect woman…for me. Thanks for reading, John!

From Karen (7/18/12):

Good Morning..I too get burned out on facebook at times,but the good outweighs the bad for me..I skim over what I'm not interested in and connect with the ones I want and need for the day..With family across the country I love the instant connection..I don't do blogs or twitter so I can understand your feelings of it getting to be too much..I'd sure hate to see you leave FB as I enjoy your posts..

I won't likely leave Facebook or this blog, Karen. Sometimes it just gets to be a little bit much. So I will come to the blog and complain about it and vent. And then a day or two later everything is right with the world again!

From Terry (7/18/12):

Okay Greg I am going to vent about Facebook. First of all I do not have one nor do I desire to have one. I have a sister in law and a niece that is always on it checking out everyone they supposedly call their friend.The first thing they do when first getting up is to see what they might have missed while sleeping, To them it serves as a means of just being nosy and a way of sharing the latest gossip with us. When we are with them they have their smart phone in hand at all times not exactly focusing their entire attention on anybody. My niece has said if she did not have her smartphone in her hand she would just die. The social media has ruined the direct contact with people. We now rely on facebook to communicate with friends. Instead of calling up someone and inviting them to your house or some event they post it on Facebook. Also if you want to know where a person is just check their status. Yes pictures are good to see but in some cases some pictures don't need to be on someone's page. I have heard about posts what someone is having for supper, WHO CARES! Or their 4 year pooped their pants, I prefer the one on one contact or calling them on the phone to see how they are doing. If I want them to know what is up with me, I will tell them myself, not share it with the world. I have a cousin that he looks for women on facebook and the last 4 girlfriends he has had he got from facebook. He has 1200 friends and the majority of them are women. He was bragging to me that on his birthday 300 women wished him a happy birthday, wouldn't mean that much to me. Okay I am done venting, you just opened up a can of worms in my case.. I don't think posting this on your blog is necessary as I might ruffle some feathers but that is my thoughts.

Well of course I am going to post this, Terry! Ruffling feathers can be good sometimes. Putting people out of their comfort zones is important once in a while. Sometimes a brother just has to be made to think about things for a bit!

From Liz (7/18/12):

Hi Greg,

I agree with you about social media. Sometimes it's nice to go a bit "off the grid."

I like Facebook, because it has helped me find people I had lost contact with, or keep in touch with friends/family members who live far away. It was especially helpful last year when my high school class was planning our reunion; we created a Group and posted information about the reunion, pictures from past get-togethers and then more pictures from the current one. But then, I also do not like a lot of things about Facebook. All the cutesy pictures do get a bit tiring. And I have serious issues with the privacy settings - - no matter how much I try to lock things down, the more they seem to open up to the world. That is extremely annoying, and is the main reason I post very little on there anymore

Twitter also gets a bit annoying, especially the "Promoted" tweets. It seems like all I do anymore is hit "Delete" to get rid of something!

Think I will continue to stay a bit off the grid, or maybe even go a little further off!

I've connected with a lot of people that I would not otherwise have found, as well, Liz. And that to me is the overwhelming benefit of social media.

From Martin (7/19/12):

is there anything for gay youth? i know there are gay kids who they also wont admit to these groups i as a gay male and a minister could never fathum ever hurting a child i think its sick personally, however these kids need things as welll why should they be excluded?

very interesting blog thanks for sharing

Well…maybe someone with a little social influence, like a minister, should begin a program that caters to gay youth, Martin.

Like the article I linked to yesterday discussed…child molesters fit every race, creed, social class, and sexual orientation. So if you want to keep molesters out of a group you can't focus on just one type of person.

From Ole Dave (7/19/12):

Ole Dave here again. Two weeks in a row. The argument on gays belonging to the Boy Scouts is a very difficult side to take. It includes many variables concerning the children. At this time my opinion is that private organizations have the right to make their own rules, and that includes whom may or may not join. As for facebook, as I said last week I feel that it is a novelty made popular by teenagers, and joined by adults that wanted to be teenagers again. I believe that this novelty should, and will, go the way of the pet rock and the hula hoop and many other fads. It has no value to anyone except persons that have nothing else to do. Please don't even consider leaving this blog. Too many people enjoy you.

Dave! I am so happy we dragged you out for two weeks in a row!

I mentioned on the blog yesterday that I don't think it is illegal for private groups to decide who can join. And frankly…while I believe you shouldn't discriminate against anyone…I am not sure I want to live in a country that legislates every little detail of our lives.

My guess is that you might be close regarding social media. While it may never go completely away I think in the coming years there will be something "bigger and better" that comes along, as technology allows.

That's it for this week! Thank you very much for checking out this blog, and thank you to those that have sent feedback.

7/19/12

Have you heard about the big issue with the Boy Scouts lately? Basically the organization doesn't like gay people. Or at the very least the organization doesn't want gay people to have any role in their group. To the best of my knowledge it is the organization's call. They are a private group…and I think private groups can still make decisions like that. After all…the golf course where the Masters Golf tournament takes place can still deny women to be members. So I think it is legal for the Boy Scouts to decide who can be a member of their group, provided it isn't based on race. Am I right about that?

Something I have heard on the radio in the past few days as I listen to some conservative talk show hosts is that the main concern in this argument is that gay men will molest the young boys. A quick Google search and you can find evidence indicating both sides of that argument. There is "research" out there suggesting that most pedophiles are straight men. And you can find "research" out there that most pedophiles are gay men. This debate kind of reminds me of the debate over climate change. The facts really no longer matter. The issue has become a political tool…which means either side will have its own research and actual scientific process or facts simply no longer matter.

I don't know the answer so I won't pretend to give you one. I know straight males that are messed up child molesters and I know gay men that are messed up child molesters. I am not sure it has to do with sexual orientation. My guess is that a pedophile has an issue with being sexual with other adults and somehow become fixated on children. And if I am right about that then maybe MEN shouldn't be able to join the Boy Scouts. Of course…I know women that have molested children, too. So maybe there shouldn't be ANY adults in the Boy Scouts.

In the end I am not sure how you find out if any one person is going to rape a child. I don't know what kind of screening questions to ask. But I don't think any given gay man, per se, is any more likely to fondle young boys than any given straight man. I don't think you can separate it by looking at gay versus straight, because straight men go after young boys, too. Just look at Jerry Sandusky.

Here is an interesting blog I discovered by someone at the University of California-Davis. It looks like this article uses actual scientific method, too.

7/18/12

Did you hear about this Macon County deputy that allegedly ran over someone? It has started quite the conversation on the TV station's Facebook page. Frankly I don't know much about it. But it certainly seems like a heated situation. And obviously if you read some of the comments on that Facebook page it is apparent that emotions are running a little hot.

Am I the only person that is getting a little burned out on some of this social media stuff? I've been feeling lately that it is all just too much. Granted I am involved in social media as part of my job so I am on websites like Facebook and Twitter probably more than the average person. But in the past few weeks I have been feeling like my life and job would actually be just fine if I wasn't connected to any of it. When Facebook really got cranking a few years ago it was a nice place to reconnect with old friends and keep in touch with people that have moved away, etc. But recently it seems to me to be a place where uninformed opinions and ignorance and those ridiculously cute cat pictures have taken over.

I've been thinking recently about not doing some of this stuff for a bit. A couple of weeks ago I went over a week without doing this blog. At work we are expected to take part in all of these platforms designed to improve our reach. When it was brought to my attention that this was now expected of us I brought up the concern that it would be too much exposure. And I guess lately I just feel that I was right. There is only so much interesting content going on in one person's life...and I feel like sometimes I am bleeding out into all of these different forms of media. I find that my "tank" gets empty a lot more often now with so many avenues to spew. The break from this blog did a lot of good for me at a time when I needed some "privacy". So I am thinking about maybe shutting down the other stuff for a bit to see how that works. I will keep you posted...and as always you are more than welcome to sound off about this by hitting the feedback section below. Have a gripe about social media? Or maybe you have something positive to say about it...we'd love to read your thoughts...

7/17/12

I didn't blog yesterday. I'm having an issue with the computer I use in the Stormcenter lately. Basically it runs slower than the TRS-80 I had when I was in junior high. I'm not sure what the deal is. But like most anywhere else that is trying to stay in business in this economy we haven't upgraded this computer setup in about 12 years. So I think this bad boy is just old and behind the times. I know…first-world problems. Some kid in the United States isn't able to sleep because he's too hungry and I am over here complaining because I have to wait a minute for a program on a computer to upload. It's all relative, I guess.

Today and tomorrow are going to be dangerously hot. The heat index is a measurement that we use that tells us how hot it actually feels to our bodies. It takes the actual air temperature, adds humidity, and gives us the heat index. Today and tomorrow the heat index will be anywhere from 105 degrees to 110 degrees. And for a section of the population that kind of heat is dangerous. Don't get me wrong…I am not tell you that the world is going to end because it's hot. Most of us can handle that kind of heat if we are careful. But if you know of any shut-ins or elderly or people that can't otherwise properly take care of themselves you might check in on them once in a while over the next couple of days.

Something else that I have heard people doing during this drought is setting out extra containers of water outside. It isn't for their pets. It is for other wild animals like birds and squirrels that are having a hard time finding enough water in this heat. The idea really seems like a good one to me. We have our dogs regular water already outside for them, not to mention the fact that we don't leave them outside for long stretches during this heat. But we also have a kids wading pool in the backyard for our boy Buster. He loves to lay in it. Right now that pool is also serving as a place for birds to get water when the dogs are inside. I just thought it was a nice idea for you to think about. We all have to help take care of this globe, afterall…

7/13/12

--Well…my big lottery win Wednesday night ended up being 3 numbers matched. While I did not come away with the $5.75 million jackpot I did win $3!

"Feedback Friday"!!!

From Cody the Former Web Guy (7/9/12):

Congratulation on the marriage! Isn't it funny, I choose today to check up and see what was going on on your blog? I haven't looked at it since leaving the station.

Also, I have a suggestion for you regarding your cable situation. I have not had cable for several years now. While it would be nice at times, I do not think it is worth the $50+ a month it costs. I had an antenna for a while, but the reception was spotty. Then I found out that if you put a splitter on the cable coming out of the wall, and plug a new cable into your tv, it will act like an antenna. That is what I have done for about a year now and we get all the network channels, several PBS stations and a couple if bonus cable stations, with almost everything in HD.

And instead of signing up for Netflix, I would suggest visiting your local library. I didn't know this until I started dating a librarian, but most libraries have a really great selection of movies and tv shows on DVD. And if your library doesn't have what you are looking for, just ask and they usually can get what you want from another library. Plus, it's free!

Love always, Cody.

Awww…Cody. So nice to hear from you! I hope your new job is going well. I've heard that when you split any kind of signal like that you will lose significant signal quality. The cable to which you refer is still carrying my internet connection. I've been told by some cable installers that doing what you suggest in my specific case would in fact diminish my internet connection. It's a great suggestion, though!

Thanks for the congrats. This place hasn't been the same since you left to take the same job somewhere else for twice the money. I'm not even sure if we have a full time replacement for you yet. Truth be told…the job probably needs to have two or three people on it, given our "commitment" to our online resources. That speaks to your abilities, my friend!

From David (7/9/12/):

CONGRATULATIONS !! Sounds like it was a perfect setting. You're just a big romantic sweetheart !! I wish many many years of happiness for you and Faye.

I'm sorry. I couldn't hear what you were trying to say over the extreme laughter coming out of my wife after you referred to me as a "romantic sweetheart"!! But yeah…the ceremony really could not have been better. I haven't even given all of the details and coincidences of that day. Things were really pointing to this union being the right way to go!

From Ole Dave (7/10/12):

Congratulations abound from your Old friend Dave! You two are the luckiest people in the world for finding each other. I wish the same continued happiness you are both enjoying and would have put this on Facebook, but I tried and that lousy network didn't accept it. Facebook is not my friend. Maybe I am just too old to be on it. Anyway, this is to wish you the best, and not to slam that idiot site. Again, my Congrats!

Thanks, Dave! And it is great to hear from you again.

From Nannette (7/12/12):

I think you won the BIG lottery over a week ago, but the monetary lottery is good too. I know I speak for myself and others might agree, but you are considered like family to us (as well as others at WAND) telling us about things in your life and your thoughts. you look and act so happy thanks for sharing and if it's not to prying we would love to see more wedding photos of Mr. Mrs Trumbold . Congratulation...

Well said, Nannette! I did hit the jackpot with Faye! And I love what you said about family. Honestly I feel the same way about most of you on the blog and on the various other forms of social media.

It isn't too prying to ask for more pictures! However…neither Faye nor I was able to take pictures during the ceremony. We did have a few other people on the boat with us and they are working on getting us the pictures. As soon as that happens I will pass some of them along!

That's it for this week! Thanks for reading the blog. And thank you VERY much for the well wishes.

7/12/12

I am not sure if I have mentioned this on the blog before but I am a player of the Illinois Lottery. I used to drive to a local liquor store here close to the station three times a week for the thrice-weekly Lotto drawing. It was just something I did 3 times a week. The Lotto draws every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday nights and I would go to this liquor store three times religiously every single week to spend my three dollars a week on one ticket. To be honest I have never fully expected to win the big one. But I have matched three numbers many, many times…which is just enough to keep my interest in the game.

For a few years now every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday morning I go to the Illinois Lottery website to check the numbers and see how I did. It is just part of my routine and has been for a while. Most mornings I glance at the numbers to see that I haven't even come close. Once in a while I will see that I have matched 3 numbers, which pays out $3. When you add it all up I am down a few hundred dollars overall…but I do get some enjoyment and entertainment out of it. So I see it as being cheaper than seeing a movie a week.

A couple of years ago I finally decided to go ahead and buy an annual subscription. You can do this through the lottery website. And they even give me a week's worth of tickets for free by buying for the entire year. The liquor store where I bought my tickets closed down and I didn't want to find another spot. Plus I get the three games for free and I don't spend the money on gas to get to the liquor store. The lottery website conveniently takes the money from my credit card and away we go.

This is my third year with a lottery subscription. I no longer travel to buy tickets in person. But I still check the numbers every morning after a drawing. And again…most of the time I don't match any numbers and occasionally I will match 3 numbers. A couple of years ago the lottery was basically privatized…which means it may actually be more efficient now. The website has been revamped and made to look more exciting. And the lottery has also stopped paying by check for winnings less than $25,000. Now they have a debit card system. When I win less than $25k my winnings are put on a debit card that works just like a regular bank card. And I have actually won enough to use the lottery card once. I bought a sandwich at the Custom Smokehouse in Mattoon several months ago and proudly paid for it with my Illinois Lottery debit card.

I am telling you all of this to tell you this…up until now when I have match enough numbers on a drawing I have had to go to the website to find out. But this morning as I was getting ready I got an email from the Illinois Lottery letting me know that I had won, and the winnings would be deposited into my account. The lottery has NEVER sent me an email like this before. Now the biggest part of me knows that this is probably just something new they are doing. But there is a tiny glimmer of hope that it telling me that maybe I have won a LOT of money and that is why they actually sent me an email! I have yet to check the numbers so I have no idea how many I matched in last night's drawing. My guess is that I just matched 3 numbers which means I will have $3 in my account. But…you never know! I will keep you posted! Either way…the little bit of excitement and entertainment this has given me this morning is worth the money I spent this year for my subscription!

7/11/12

--Looks like some of us are catching some rain this morning! Basically a little "shortwave", or piece of energy, is passing through this morning. It happens quite a bit, but this morning there was enough moisture to work with and it triggered some showers in just a few spots. We will have a better chance for more rain off and on through the weekend, the way it looks right now.

--If you remember last month here on the blog we spoke about the comments section at the bottom. I said that I would turn on the comments section to leave a more immediate way for you to leave feedback here. Well only one person tried it out so I've decided to turn the comments section off. We will go back to "Feedback Friday" starting this week!

So going forward if there is something you'd like to say here on the blog just hit the feedback form below…just like we've been doing for over 4 years now!

7/10/12

Well yesterday morning was a big fat flop! My two co-anchors didn't notice over the course of two hours that I was even wearing a wedding ring! So the weeks and weeks of trying to keep our impending nuptials off of social media and out of my workplace so we could have a nice revealing moment on-air completely died on the vine. Faye and I risked personal relationships by not telling many, many of our friends and family what we were planning to do so I could have this one shining moment on live television. And my coworkers didn't even get off of their cell phones long enough during the morning news to notice that I was wearing a ring.

However…everyone else was fantastic yesterday morning. Tyler the Short-timer morning camera guy, Bruce the Elder Director, and Geno Reynolds, the Man with the Reel Opinion, all noticed the ring yesterday morning during the newscast. And they were good enough not to say anything to Mark and Stephanie so we could still try to capture that moment of surprise during the news. After the news Faye and I went ahead and put everything on the various social media that we use. And what followed was a heart-touching flow of congrats and support. We are very thankful to everyone that spoke up to wish us well. It's a blessing to have one another, and it is a blessing to have your well-wishes and support.

Mark and Stephanie, on the other hand, even had the gall to get mad at me after the news because they "had to find out about it on Facebook"! It was actually pretty funny. I told them I all but stuck my hand in their faces and they still didn't even notice I was wearing a ring! Don't tell either of them…but I am quite fond of them both, as co-workers and as people. But again…don't tell them I said that…

7/9/12

So I got married one week ago today. You may have noticed the blog was "empty" for a while. I went on vacation last week on my family's annual trip to California for the Fourth of July. This was Faye's 3^rd time with me on this trip as we have been together for 3 years now. And this year we went out on our family's boat and got married.

We were about 3 miles out on the Pacific Ocean off of Dana Point. There were 7 people on the boat, including our Holy Man…as he liked us to call him. Faye and I had a perfect little ceremony. In the middle of her vows to me, and after mine to her, the Captain of the boat stopped the ceremony to point out the hundreds of dolphins that had begun swimming all around us. We actually stopped the ceremony for about 5 minutes to watch and admire and appreciate the dolphins and then continued. After the ceremony we cracked some champagne and began the trip back to the dock as husband and wife!

Here's the kicker for this morning, though. None of my coworkers knew the purpose of my vacation. As I sit here and type this blog I've spoken to a couple of them and they have no idea. Mark Rivera is over at the makeup mirror right now…we just talked about our respective vacations from last week…and he has no clue that I am wearing a wedding band. So this morning I am waiting for the moment that they see my ring! My hope is that it will be a fun, impromptu moment that everyone can enjoy on the air during the news. But we will see how it turns out.

By the way…until the moment is revealed I will not be posting anything about this on Facebook or Twitter. Faye and I have worked ridiculously hard for weeks to keep this secret from my co-workers in the hopes that it provides a great on-air moment! So do me a favor if you are on Twitter or Facebook…don't post anything there until you see me post about it! I just thought I would put it on the blog first because you Gregorians have been with me since the beginning of social media and I thought you deserved to be let in on the secret!

Weather...or Not: July 2012Entries - Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

Weather...or Not: July 2012Entries