If you spend time on the National Weather Service sites, you’re familiar with their regional forecast maps, mosaics of color denoting advisories for floods (in different shades of green), winter storm watches and warnings (purple and pink), and red-flag alerts (an alarming scarlet). One “forecast advisory” I had never encountered on a weather map before: a child abduction emergency.
Wow. I get the whole amber alert movement, even though I have to admit that the ubiquitous bulletins to keep an eye out for certain cars always triggers a creepy sensation for me (it would be easy to use the alert network for other purposes, like looking out for subversives). I just wonder how useful weather mapping is for spreading the news about an apparent parent-abduction case. Maybe it’s very effective. It got my attention.
As to the son and father and mother involved in this incident: I hope it all ends well.
I’ve seen those alerts on the freeway to look out for specific cars. Specifically on a trip last year to LA. But it made me wonder (I saw the notice for one car in both the Bay Area and in LA) how helpful those are. Not only are there millions of cars whizzing around but thousands of the same make and model. And not only do you either have to write down the license plate number or commit it to memory but actually pay attention to the license plate numbers of the cars around you when you should be paying attention to how cars are driving around you.
That guy looks way too happy. I think he has something on his mind…