It’s Been A Good Afternoon

This afternoon I told a few friends I am in a very good frame of mind because of the support I’ve seen from so many of you. It’s like Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life!” This is a surreal out-of-body experience.

Sometimes as passions heat we all get a little angry and try to get even. Please don’t do that. If you like me it’s because I try to be fair and honest to others. I hope you will do the same thing.

If you’re wondering whether your words have been heard–they have by me. You have no idea how wonderful you have made my parents, daughter, Helaine and me feel.

Meanwhile, I’m, still in pajamas and Helaine has hinted there may be legal action if I don’t hit the shower — now.

18 thoughts on “It’s Been A Good Afternoon”

  1. You are a mensch….. if a shiksa can spell it correctly. Whatever happens with Channel 8, your intelligence and integrity and community spirit will continue to ensure that you have a happy life. I can’t imagine CT without you…. but life is full of unanticipated twists and turns…. maybe this twist and turn will lead you to a place that is even happier and more fulfilling than the one which you currently occupy. Godspeed, and God Bless!

  2. Sounds like the shower should be a very good idea Geoff – hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And while Helaine seems like a very gentle lady, I would NOT want to make her angry – LOL

  3. Geoff…we will NOT stop….I know you may think this is a little crazy…but you have touched, and changed lives…we want to keep you.
    and I agree with Helaine…time to hit the showers….LOL

  4. Geoff,
    The last weatherman I can remember that was actually worth watching before you was Hilton… Gullywhompers and all… LoL You and he share that same, down to earth charm that makes watching hurricanes and Thundersnow bear down on us almost enjoyable…

  5. Back in the early 90s I learned that my job, as a municipal social worker and office tech for the building department, was being cut from 30 hrs/week (considered full time and eligible for benefits) to 9 hours a week. There were no valid reasons for this cut, and among a dozen employees, it was only I who was targeted. Can you say “nasty politics?” And to make matters worse I learned of this at a public town meeting, along with everyone else who attended, and it was after 9 years of dedicated and effective work on my part. One year short of vesting in my pension.

    Well, they didn’t win, but this is a story in and unto itself. The point is, I was always hoping I had made a difference and had an impact on my clients…but I wasn’t ever truly sure. Then something amazing happened. After the story broke in the papers, I had people coming into my office for the sole purpose of asking who to complain about this to. They said that if I hadn’t helped them when they needed help their lives would have been markedly worse. I had people calling my house asking if I knew about any petitions to get my hours reinstated because they wanted to sign them. People approached me in the post office asking if there was anything they could do; they stopped me in line at the grocery store and very heatedly at times expressed their dismay and anger. Letters were sent by the local priest and Protestant pastor alike — both of whom I worked with on a regular basis — protesting the cut as completely counterproductive.

    Now years later that political foe (and I’m not a “foe”-ful person! Believe me!) is basically nowhere to be found, and is remembered, if she is remembered, as pretty much the most horrible administrator the town ever had (“Those were awful years when Jane Doe was in office!”) I, on the other hand, hold my head high and still feel the warmth of that incredible “group hug” — validation that I was doing a good job. People were upset and confused. (Plenty were p.o.’d too.) I still hear people say “Why can’t things be like they were back then? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” and I know they knew I was on their side.

    Better days are coming, but you will remember these days and they will lift you up.

  6. Geoff…you are a CT icon, ’tis true. But that’s so, in large part, because you also happen to be a talented professional, a warm, funny, and genuinely likeable personality and because you are a sincerely nice man–the proverbial “genuine article” if you will. One of the things I’ve always found most engaging about you is the palpable enthusiasm you bring to what you do. It’s clear that you not only love what you do, but that you care about doing it well, by imparting the most accurate information you have at hand, with the dose of good humor from which we can ALL always benefit. What’s more, I’ll not forget that years ago, when I was a new teacher in dire need of a snow day, you took the time to respond to not one, but two of my whiny emails! I thought you a class act then, and I think it now. Regardless of whatever else happens for you, Geoff, this much I know: wherever fate takes you, your viewers (current and future) will happily embrace you, and you will flourish and prosper.

    Especially if you take the time to shower. : )

  7. I agree with you Geoff. Dissatisfaction should be aimed towards those who made the decision, not anyone else. WTNH is made up of great on-air personnel; it’s management that has the (big) problems. Unfortunately, continuing to watch WTNH only supports the bad decisions, so many have decided to take their viewing elsewhere once you leave. If I were to still be in CT, I probably would make the same decision. I hope that management realizes that their choices not only affect you, but affect the entire staff due to public dissatisfaction. We will see, however.

    Anyways, enjoy your vacation. I hope you and your family have a ton of fun, and I’m glad that we could make you all so thrilled. I’m happy that I will get to see you on-air for a few more days before I leave CT. Hopefully when I visit later this year, I will get to see you on one channel or another. At least with the advent of social media and your embracing of it, I will get to keep up with you (and the rest of the great CT media personalities) no matter where any of us are.

  8. I was saddened to hear that you would no longer be a fixture at WTNH. Spent many nights with my sweet, now deceased grandmother watching you while she talked over your report telling me exactly what you were going to say. She did that in church to the preacher as well. She was convinced she was a weather reporter and a preacher. When I was in 3rd grade, I wrote to you and felt so special when you wrote back. Thanks for making an 8 year old feel like a star!
    I now live in Charlotte. I left CT 4 years ago. I listen to your best friend on the radio all the time. Bob sometimes mentions you. I would still go to WTNH every day and read the weather reports. I don’t care about CT’s weather. It was just a piece of home. Good luck and Godspeed to you and your family.

  9. Geoff, We are so disappointed. You are the main reason we still watch Channel 8. News reporting has changed so much,and we often feel like we are being manipulated, but you were there to speak directly to us. We felt like you were our friend. You are a CT icon, and I really hope to see you on another station. But, no matter where you are, you will be loved. We’ll continue to follow your blog. Best of luck to you and your family.

  10. The great thing about the internet is that no matter where you end up we will still be able to watch you. Hopefully we will still be able to see you in our area, but if not we will learn to enjoy watching the weather you are forecasting for someone else.. and for your sake, somewhere without snow! I don’t want to give up hope nor am I going to until we have to. I hope you have a wonderful vacation visiting with your parents and Stephanie.

  11. Geoff,
    I was shocked and dismayed to learn of the news and the manner in which the management of WTNH is ending your service at Channel 8. It’s a heck of a way to start off the New Year. For more than a quarter of a century, you have been a fixture to the viewers of Connecticut who have grown to rely and trust your forecasts. Weather forecasting is an art and a science, and while there have been some misses in the forecasts, there have certainly been a lot more hits during your career.
    The news of your departure comes as a tremendous shock to the system and your loyal viewing audience. It comes with no warning, like a thunderclap, and will have disastrous effects on the viewership of Channel 8. This decision is a serious blunder by the management of WTNH in which they will hopefully come to regret. Remember if you will, another famous corporate gaffe when Coca Cola replaced original Coke with “The New Coke”. That campaign turned out to be a disaster of enormous proportion, and the management was forced by public opinion to reverse course. Geoff, you too are an original and cannot be replaced! In what seems like a different era, corporations used to appreciate an employee’s longevity and loyalty. Unfortunately in today’s environment that is not the case. Professionalism, longevity, knowledge and experience are qualities which are no longer respected, appreciated or valued and now take a “back seat” to the flavor of the day. I will never forget the time I took you flying along the Connecticut coast, landed at Bridgeport airport to visit the weather station there, and then flew back to New Haven so that you could do that evening’s broadcast. I will also never forget the many times you so graciously phoned my home to ask me what the weather was doing there when I was one of your dedicated “weather watchers” when that was part of your weather segment.
    Geoff, you are an institution to your loyal Connecticut viewers (like Yale is an institution in New Haven) and will be sorely missed. After 26 years, you cannot be so easily replaced, and I would hate to be the person who has to fill your shoes.
    Wherever you end up, it will be their gain, and forever Channel 8’s loss. May the winds be forever at your back!!

  12. Geoff,

    I’m just about to turn 25, and I grew up watching you. I remember I was about 10 or 11…it was a late June evening, and you announced that there was a tornado warning. I made my entire family go into the basement that night – rather dragged them down there as I guess they didn’t take your warning as seriously as me. For a few years afterwards I had this combination fear/fascination with severe weather. I even wanted to be a meteorologist. Then a tornado chaser. Didn’t quite turn out that way.

    I ended up going to Emerson to study film and audio/radio. It was always great to come back home during breaks watch my home news again. Even something as simple as watching the forecast with Geoff Fox made me feel that comforting “I’m home feeling”. And now I’ve moved to Los Angeles. I haven’t been home in well over a year. Like your daughter, I live in the valley, and besides the crazy rain we had recently and the people who can’t seem to drive in it, the weather here will never be as cool as the weather back home.

    I discovered on Facebook about what happened at TNH, and it disturbs me. If you asked me to make a list of my favorite things about home, waiting through all that news to watch Geoff Fox on 8 would be right up there with good pizza. You can’t get either in Los Angeles sadly, but up until now it’s been nice to know it’s still there back home…. It’s like waking up and reading online that all the best pizza places in New Haven have been replaced by Dominoes. I’m floored.

  13. Good luck and hopefully you will turn around and be standing in front of a wonderful door of oppurtunity,you cracked me up more than once. Be Cool.

  14. Geoff,

    You will be deeply missed. I watched you when I was in high school. What is Channel 8 thinking. We all need to protest

  15. Geoff

    I will be writing to the station as well and letting them know what idiots they are. I will also be watching a new station! I am sorry to hear the news about your position. Getting on with your life and making them realize they made the biggest mistake ever will be your own personal satisfaction. Do not let it take over however, get on with the next stage in your life, they are not worth it. Good luck, hopefully we will be lucky enough to keep you in CT.

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