Pretty Colors

Finally some fun news after a depressing few days. WZZM TV-13 is in the process of revamping and resurrecting an old favorite to the local skyline - the Weatherball. They have a site set up for it, with some "memories" posted. I of course, posted mine, and so did my friend Jim (who doesn't live around here anymore). Looking at their site today, I noticed both of out "memories" are posted. And to make Jim really mad, mine is first (as of now - they might change later). here they are....

"I always looked for the Weatherball when I was around downtown. I also remember back in the late 1970's when we added a new color to the weatherball. It was "WeatherBall Black - Nuclear Attack." Most of the kids around here knew of that line to end the "Weatherball Saying." It'll be great to have it back."

And here is Jim's...

"I grew up from birth in Grand Rapids, but am living in Phoenix, Arizona now. I will never forget the Weatherball, and am glad you're bringing it back. A friend of the family's was involved in its construction, and I remember thinking he must have been a real important guy to have anything at all to do with the Weatherball. Going to school with Peter Chan, we used to joke that his job as a meteorologist would be to sit in a little room underneath the Weatherball and push the buttons that turned it red, blue, or green; and then a special extra switch would make it blink. He surprised all of us."

Of course, now Peter Chan is Chief Meteorologist at another local station, WXMI TV-17 (the only two stations to watch around here. No one with any sense of morality would watch WOOD TV-8).

Of course, that got me thinking. We need a graphic for the Weatherball. So my brother made one up. Here's the graphic on my site.