Jeff Burgar

The late Ray Tallman, of Grouard, made good predictions. Definitely much better than this lowly writer.

At least twice a year, and usually more often, Ray would let us know what coming months would bring in weather.

Actually, we never really measured his successes or failures. It was much more fun to get the next prediction, than worry if the last one had a ring of truth to it.

Indeed, we do a better job keeping track of Groundhog Day predictions! And that we do for just a few months. Six weeks of winter and the rodent ramblings are either applauded or forgotten.

Ray was in a whole class of his own, fearlessly predicting months into the future, combining his readings of moss, the habits of magpies, what he observed from deer, and probably what he gleaned from the Farmer’s Almanac, to form his prognostications, as we called them. Ray also wisely stuck with weather.

On the other hand, fools like ourselves in the news business aren’t happy with just weather, or even sports predictions. Nope. Many of us wander into that muddy, stormy, unmapped and totally confusing arena called politics.

It’s bad enough politicians themselves, with their advisors, polls, door knockers and supposedly endless expert opinions, often make a mess of predictions. There just isn’t any reliable moss on the south side of a tree giving all answers.

This item is reprinted with permission from the High Prairie, AB, South Peace News. For the complete article, click HERE

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