Yesterday I started telling you about my favorite episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. “Granny vs. the Weather Bureau.” Episode number 61 originally aired in black and white on March 25, 1964. Granny has been upset with the pretty television weather girl for missing forecasts. Granny says her name, the “Weather Miss” is a good one since she is “since she ain’t hit it right all week.”
Granny steps outside to teach Ellie about weather signs. She explains that the bobcat licking its fur against the grain is a sign of rain. That a rooster crowing before dark is another sign. That ants piling dirt in front of their holes is another. Others include cats sneezing, dogs eating grass and leaves that turn up their lighter colored undersides (actually a very good one.) But Granny’s secret weapon is a beetle in a matchbox. When she opens it, he turns over on his back and kicks. “A dead for sure sign,” she tells Ellie.
Jed makes a call and finds out the television weather girl got her forecasts from the government. “Whose government?” asks Granny. Meanwhile, Addison goes through stacks of weather data on his desk, including observations, satellite data, ship reports weather balloon observations and computer output and laments that it all leads to a two word forecast: Clear tonight.
Granny gets on the phone with the weatherman and scolds him for telling everyone that it wasn’t going to rain when it was going to come down in buckets. He gave her his assurance “that there would be no precipitation” that night, to which Granny retorts, “well, maybe not, but there will be a whole slew of rain.” They argue back and forth until he says, “TIROS says it won’t.” Granny retorts, “Cecil says it will. Cecil can out predict you TIROS any day.” In vain, Addison explains that as a taxpayer, she had a right to know about the satellite TIROS 7, which had cost millions of dollars and in a sense belonged to her. “Millions of dollars for a beetle that says it ain’t gonna rain tonight? I want my money back!” She hangs up, demanding to know where were the first six beetles they helped pay for. “The government is paying an outrageous price for their beetles.”
Funny!
Granny steps outside to teach Ellie about weather signs. She explains that the bobcat licking its fur against the grain is a sign of rain. That a rooster crowing before dark is another sign. That ants piling dirt in front of their holes is another. Others include cats sneezing, dogs eating grass and leaves that turn up their lighter colored undersides (actually a very good one.) But Granny’s secret weapon is a beetle in a matchbox. When she opens it, he turns over on his back and kicks. “A dead for sure sign,” she tells Ellie.
Jed makes a call and finds out the television weather girl got her forecasts from the government. “Whose government?” asks Granny. Meanwhile, Addison goes through stacks of weather data on his desk, including observations, satellite data, ship reports weather balloon observations and computer output and laments that it all leads to a two word forecast: Clear tonight.
Granny gets on the phone with the weatherman and scolds him for telling everyone that it wasn’t going to rain when it was going to come down in buckets. He gave her his assurance “that there would be no precipitation” that night, to which Granny retorts, “well, maybe not, but there will be a whole slew of rain.” They argue back and forth until he says, “TIROS says it won’t.” Granny retorts, “Cecil says it will. Cecil can out predict you TIROS any day.” In vain, Addison explains that as a taxpayer, she had a right to know about the satellite TIROS 7, which had cost millions of dollars and in a sense belonged to her. “Millions of dollars for a beetle that says it ain’t gonna rain tonight? I want my money back!” She hangs up, demanding to know where were the first six beetles they helped pay for. “The government is paying an outrageous price for their beetles.”
Funny!
on May 13, 2006, 9:39 pm
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