Arthurmometer

     When we still lived on Heinrich Road, the radio sat on top of the refrigerator in the kitchen. It was AM radio, and the station was always set to WBEN which was not a top-40's station. One was likely to hear Frank Sinatra or Al Martino and not at all likely to hear Elvis or the Beach Boys.

     For about a hundred years or so, the morning DJ on WBEN was Clint Buelmann. He was not loud or gimmicky, no cowboy ego or political agenda – of course I might have been too young to notice. What I do remember is that he was personable. After a particularly heavy rainstorm, Clint would use the phrase “gully washer and trash mover” isn't that a great depiction of what a lot of rain would do to the gullies and the trash?” And along with the news, weather, and traffic, Mr. Buelmann solemnly announced in alphabetical order, after really bad snowstorms, the school closings!

     One of the quirky things that Clint Buelmann did was that he had a name for the thermometer! He called it Arthur as in our-thermometer! Isn't that cute? He'd say “Arthur says it's 20 degrees outside this morning,” or “let me go see what Arthur says is the temperature right now?” As a little kid, I pictured a guy named Arthur looking at the thermometer and reporting back to Clint so he could announce it on the radio. When I finally figured out that Arthur was the name of the thermometer, I kind of groaned and kind of wished I had thought of that myself.

     At home these days, we have indoor/outdoor thermometers – the kind that have the probe outside and the readings inside. Every morning when Mike is sitting in the music room listening to NPR, I'll ask “What does Arthur say today?” and Mike will tell me the outside temperature, thus bringing a little of Clint Buelmann and WBEN Buffalo of yesteryear into our 21^st century Georgia home.

58 20150227 Arthur the Thermometer