Overheard in IFR Magazine's "On the Air"

Going from Virginia to Houston, Texas, I was diverting north of Memphis, Tennessee to get around a big storm front which was moving across the country. I planned a fuel stop at Jackson, Tennessee (MKL) and was on the back side of the front with just light rain ahead of me. As always, I tried to call with a DTN screen in front of me for the big picture. This occurred on the phone during a weather briefing with FSS:

Me:
"N12345, IFR flight plan: MKL, PBF, direct HOU. (West, then southwest.)"

Briefer:
"O.K. Lots of weather. Big storms ahead of you."

Me:
"Well, I'm looking at the DTN screen, and the radar shows those storms to be behind me with just light rain and then improving weather."

Briefer:
"Hmmm — you're right; storms behind you."

I was thinking, "Oh, boy, just what I need — a dyslexic weather briefer."

The rest of the trip went well ... .

Ed Hendee
Houston, Texas