Blind Weatherman Back On The Job

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (AP) -- A popular self-taught meterologist, who is legally blind and provides his weather forecasts from home, will return to the airwaves in western Massachusetts after a public outcry over his firing. George Trottier, 65, confirmed on the air Friday that he has accepted an offer from the Vox Radio Group to return to his old job with radio stations WNAW-AM and WMNB-FM.



Now, I barely believe anything my weatherman says, but as far as I know, he's got use of all five of his senses, not the least of which, would be his ability to see. Weathermen get a lot of grief as it is, but isn't a blind weatherman just courting ridicule?

"The weatherman said it was going to be nice today," you'd say.

"Yeah, well it's cold and raining," your buddy Fred would reply, more than a little angry.

"Well, what'd you expect," you'd answer, "George is fucking blind."

"Good point," Fred would answer. After all, Fred is a fair guy.

But it's not just that George the weatherman is blind. He's self-taught. Again, I don't really trust the whole meterologist thing to begin with. Is that really a degree that someone can get from a real college. It seems up there with spokesmodel. Does anyone really believe that these guys are predicting the weather? Don't they just read the script that some geek in the back gives them?

So, anyway, here you have a Massachusetts radio station with a 65 year old weatherman who has not only never been trained, he's blind. But when they fire him, people complain. There really must not be much in the way of entertainment up there.

But wait, there's more. Not only has he learned weather forecasting from library books and Indian legends. Not only is he blind. But he doesn't even come into work. He calls his reports in. Hell, I could do that.

Walk outside. Hmmm. Feels kind cold. Well, it is January. A little warm on the face, though. Must be sunny. Okee-dokie. Time to call the radio station.