No Weather, No Time

When I was but a boy, I desired to know the weather and the time. The weather so that I could dress appropriately for school. (Oh, the days when wearing shorts on weekdays was a normal occurrence). The time, whenever I wanted to set the clock on the microwave, VCR, or my watch I never wore down to the exact second of the correct time.

There was no internet option. "So what must one do?," I ask to a possibly dumbfounded reader. If you had already missed the local news weather report or your father had placed the day's copy of the Washington Post somewhere around the house nowhere to be found, what could one do?

Luckily Bell Atlantic offered a service - just call their weather line or their time line and you can hear the latest weather report OR the exact time in 10 second increments. I called the lines ALL THE TIME. When Bell Atlantic turned into Verizon I was worried that they'd do away with both of them but was relieved to know they survived. But then, when information became readily available at the click of a mouse in the broadband always connected era (as dialing up to the internet to find out the weather was far more effort than calling the weather line), I no longer called.

I had a weather app on my BlackBerry which helped getting ready for work in the morning easier. However, several months ago after I retired said BlackBerry and downgraded to a regular cell phone, I began calling the weather line again.  There were some new fun weathermen who provided fun historical facts about the day and weather. It was like a nice walk down memory lane.

This morning, however, I have been saddened to learn that this service will be discontinued in June. Why, Why? I ask you. Why. Why.