I must admit in the past, I have been like so many other people who watch the news and scratch my head over reporters in the field who cover nasty weather…telling us about a dangerous situation…while they are standing right in the middle of it. On Sunday night, I was the one doing the standing!
The weekend rain, wind, and storm after impressive storm felt like taking punches in the ring…you keep getting up off the mat, but wonder when the referee will just call the fight. Hold up Mother Nature’s hand already…she’s your winner! But there I was, running from the east to the west…taking in all she had to offer. Up close…you just shake your head.
I don’t claim to be any great shakes when it comes to reporting the news…we’ve got a station full of talented journalists who have done it for years and can detail the events of the day better than anyone in the market. Thrown into the frey, you just talk about what you see…what people say…and in this case, just let the pictures do the talking.
My videographer Bob Palmer made that part simple. We started in Whitefish Bay where trees older than the neighborhood itself were splintered like toothpicks. The cleanup crews, neighbors pitching in and constant parade of onlookers made the video compelling. And because it was so isolated…not every subdivision had the destruction we saw.
In Brookfield, we braced ourselves for another round of heavy rain, and watched as creepy clouds rolled over the horizon. Then the water, again, in sheets. And our final stop in Waukesha where the Fox River runneth rover. Can’t say I blame all the people who walked in water, to look at the water. The Barstow Street bridge seemed like it was just in the way of the rampaging overflow.
My instints told me to just tell the story of what Bob and I saw. And that’s when it hit me…this is no different than telling a great sports story. Let the subjects be on the stage…let the video draw the viewer in.
It was a long, but exhilarating day. Usually, a well played sporting event will get my juices flowing. On a stormy Sunday, Wisconsin’s wacky weather did the trick.
-Bob Brainerd
