Weather Predictions

It is one of those wonderful evenings where the rain continues to announce its presence on the roof and the temperatures fall into the thirties.

The weather folks think we might get several inches of snow by morning. I think not! Two to four is my prediction.

Actually I have experience in weather predictions. Two stories come to mind. Years ago when I was first starting out in my television career I was hired to do the weather in Fort Wayne, Indiana along with some other things.

I did not know a damn thing about the weather so I bought a small paperback book about “How to forecast the weather,” by Eric Sloan.  It worked, for I had that job for a few months before somebody left and I was now the news anchor. My suspicion is that I was better at news reporting that I was as a weather forecaster.

But hey! It worked!

The other story concerns an instantaneous prayerful petition to the Almighty. I was with the late Cardinal Terrance Cooke of New York.

I was covering, in Rome, Italy, the funeral of Pope John Paul the First. I set up an interview with Cardinal Cooke at his official residence in Rome at North American College. It was pouring rain.

I asked his Eminence to join me in prayer. I said, “ Dear God, I need fifteen minutes of no rain to walk and talk with one of your guys in the garden. Amen.

Cardinal Cooke said, with a smile, I hope it works. Fifteen minutes later the clouds parted, the sun shone and we walked and talked in the garden.

When we finished it started to rain again. I looked at the Cardinal and said you see Your Eminence, “The power of prayer.”

He repsonded after a short pause, "No Rolland, it is the power of the press."