Two Crazy Guys

Carol and I were watching the weather channel and she made a casual comment that inspired what is to follow. She said "Jim Cantore is the Richard Engel of weather."

Jim Cantore is insane in the membrane.
He's the dude you see on the Weather Channel hanging onto a stop sign, with his feet flying out horizontally, reporting on hurricanes, snow storms and "weather events."
Weather event is a revolting phrase. This is a two pronged strategy by the "experts" to simultaneously create something and water it down.
The watering down part stems from the fact that the word storm is too stressful for delicate Americans. Kind of like little Johnny losing his tennis match. He didn't lose. He was the second winner.
The create something part stems from the insatiable need of experts to sound like experts. Weather event makes it sound more mysterious. If pressed I'm sure they could supply a 15 minute dissertation on the difference between an event and a storm.
Which would be complete bullshit. But the big words would mesmerize, and the audience would be convinced.
If P.T. Barnum were alive today in America he would be a trillionaire.
But I digress.
What I dig about Cantore is his enthusiasm. You can feel it even as he is dodging tree limbs and flying puppies. There is no sense of fear there, only a sense of wonder.
I did small research before diving in here and came across a video of the Jimster that explained it all. It showed him walking in the woods around his home, narrating as he goes.
His love of and respect for nature was obvious in the way he talked. He said "When people see me they know Mother Nature is about to be cruel." He said nature can be awful, nature can be incredible. He said "there is a vastness to the world that we often don't realize."
These are the words of someone with a passion, someone who loves what he does.
Working for the Weather Channel was his first job out of college and he has been there ever since. Twenty five years.
I think he loves what he does.

Richard Engel is insane in the membrane.
He is the chief foreign correspondent for NBC news. He's the dude you see reporting from war torn Arabic countries as insanity swirls around him. The guy with fires burning behind him, gunshots in the back ground and angry mobs writhing in uncontrollable fury.
After graduating college he headed to Egypt as a freelance journalist where he lived for four years before moving on to Jerusalem where he lived and worked for three more years.
When the U.S. invaded Iraq he headed that way and began working in and around that area as a foreign corespondent for NBC.
He speaks and reads Arabic fluently. If you know anything about the language you know it ain't pig latin. Although I give the Three Stooges credit for mastering pig latin. It was the right language for their skill set.
Engel is also fluent in Italian and Spanish.
The guy blows me away. He voluntarily travels to the most dangerous and volatile places in the world, throws himself into the situation and reports on it.
I see enthusiasm with him as I do with Cantore, but it seems to be seasoned with a hint of fear or at least an awareness of the risk.

Both of these guys are adrenaline junkies, although I think Cantore gets his in measured doses. If a redwood was falling, Cantore would step aside before reporting on it. Engel would report from under the shadow of the falling tree until he had to leap out of the way or be crushed.

I am fascinated by people who intentionally put themselves in dangerous situations to do their job. It ain't just the money, baby. Neither one of these guys is getting paid enough.
Although there are probably perks. Cantore probably has a nice collection of slickers with the Weather Channel tastefully stenciled on the back.
Engel probably has a fabulous collection of bullet proof vests which come in handy when he goes to dangerous places like the movies or college campuses here in America.

It's about passion. It's about being fully committed to what you do. These guys are whole. They don't have to separate who they are from what they do. Makes for less psychoses. And is rare. And I mean R-A-R-E.

You might shake your head as you watch what they do. But your soul gets it, inspiring it to whisper sweet encouragement to your dreams as they struggle on life support.