Normally this space is reserved for topics of a Political nature.  But from time to time, there emerges a Hero who deserves a page of his own.

A friend recently brought to my attention that my favorite Hometown Hero – Oklahoma City’s #1 Meteorologist Gary England – has hit a Milestone. He has a legendary drinking game named after him.  And in Oklahoma, trust me, that says it all.

For those of you not blessed to be from the great (albeit sometimes tornado-filled) state of Oklahoma, Gary England is the chief meteorologist for KWTV Channel 9, the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City.  Gary England is a legend in his own right, as the first on-air meteorologist to alert its viewers of a possible tornado using a commercial Doppler weather radar.  He helped develop the Doppler radar system in use around the World today.  

Gary England could also be called the founding father of "storm chasers," because during a live TV cut-in by Gary on May 24, 1973, Channel 9 viewers saw the radar image of a damaging F4 tornado – which turned into the first-ever documented chase of a tornado. 

No doubt about it, Gary England has saved countless lives with his early warning systems.

After achieving local fame, Hollywood came calling for Gary England to do a cameo appearance during the opening scene of the 1996 film "Twister" and served as one of three 'weather announcers' in the movie. (Those of us who watched couldn’t help but think this entire movie had Gary England written all over it.)

After the horrendous May 1999 "F5" tornado outbreak in Oklahoma City and Moore, Oklahoma, Gary appeared in more than fifty national and international weather specials, and was featured in live feeds on MSNBC, FOX News, and others. In 2007, Gary England wrote and recorded part of a sound track for a weather-oriented episode of TNT's new hit show "Saving Grace" starring Holly Hunter.  In addition to his on-screen fame, Gary England has written several books on Oklahoma weather, including his 1996 autobiography "Weathering The Storm."  A new biography on Gary England penned by Bob Burke was published in December 2006 titled, "Friday Night in the Big Town."

Why Gary England has not yet been presented with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the National Weather Service is beyond me.  But, Gary, we love ya’ and in honor of the countless lives you have saved, we raise our glass to you …

Instructions for the Official Gary England Drinking Game
*do not try this at home unsupervised; neither K Street Communications nor Gary England are in any way responsible for the results
**Editor’s note: this may only be funny to you if you grew up in, or went to college in, Oklahoma

Pre-game:
1. Everyone selects a storm chaser other than Val Caster. Every time Gary talks to your storm chaser, you take one drink. Take two drinks every time we see footage from your storm chaser. Take four drinks if your storm chaser says "tornado on the ground."

2. Everyone selects a county other than Pottawatomie County (will explain why later). Every time Gary mentions your county, you take one drink. Take two drinks every time we see footage from your county. Take four drinks if a tornado touches down in your county.

One drink:
1. Take one drink every time Gary says the following:
"Hook echo" | "Updraft" | "Metro" | "Doppler radar" | "Wall cloud" | "Ranger 9" | "Underground" | "Mobile home"

2. When Gary gives a list of counties, take one drink for every county in the list.

3. Take one drink every time Gary interrupts a program. Take one drink if Gary says "You're not missing any of [program name]." Take one drink when Gary says "We'll keep you advised."

Two drinks:
1. Take two drinks every time Gary says the following:
"Baseball-sized hail" | "Waterloo Road" | "Pottawatomie County" | "Deer Creek High School"

2. Take two drinks every time Gary mentions the following towns:
Altus | Burns Flat | Dell City | Gotebo | Hydro | Lookeba | Meeker | Mulhall | Oktaha | Olustee | Shattuck | Slaughterville | Tryon | Vici | Waukomis | Wayne (or Payne) | Weleetka | Wetumkah

3. Take two drinks every time Gary talks to Val Caster.

Three drinks:
1. Take three drinks if we see footage from Val Caster.

2. Take three drinks if we see footage from Pottawatomie County.

3. Take three drinks if Gary mentions the following:
"Immediate tornado precautions" | "National Weather Service" | "Mesocyclone" | "Portable Radio" | "Take shelter" | "Tornado warning in effect until .."

Four drinks:
1. Take four drinks if Ranger 9 must land to refuel.

2. Take four drinks if Gary issues his own tornado warning, not recognized by the NWS or says the following:
"Will someone please answer that phone?" | "Do you see power flashes?"

3. Take four drinks if a shirt-less tornado victim is interviewed.

Finish your drink:
1. Finish your drink if someone uses the word tornado as a verb or if Gary mentions the nearest cross streets to you.

2. If Gary says "We've lost Val," pour a little out for your homies and finish your drink.