The Word - Vol 73

Hawaiian Shirts 
Some of you might remember me from my years as the TV weather guy on BCTV/Global’s News Hour. Some may not.  Either way, one of the things that I was known for was wearing Hawaiian or Tropical shirts during the weathercasts during the Summer months. We’re coming up to the May long weekend which is traditionally the green light for wearing white pants and Hawaiian shirts!

I wasn’t the first to make such a fashion faux pas. Gordie Tupper of CHEK-TV used to wear the classic Aloha shirt for years. But I guess I was the first at BCTV to make such a fashion statement.

It all started one night when the “Producer in charge of sending the weather guy outside to do the weather cast” thought it would be a good idea to send me to Kits Beach in Vancouver. When I got the call, I wondered what my wardrobe would be. It wouldn’t seem right to show up at a beach in the summer in a sports jacket or blazer, shirt, and tie. What to wear? As I looked through my closet, I spotted a hideous Hawaiian/Tropical patterned shirt.  It was one I think I had bought in a thrift store because it was so ugly, it was good, so I bought it as a joke. It seemed that it was good enough for the beach, so that night I wore the shirt for the NewsHour. Tony Parsons was the news anchor that night, and as he introduced me for the weather portion of the newscast, he turned, looked at the screen, and said, “What are you wearing?” I explained I was at the beach, so I thought I’d get tropical! He said, “That’s the worst-looking shirt I’ve ever seen!” He said it with a smile, but he was shocked and surprised at the same time.  

That reaction was all I needed. I now had a quest. To come up with an equally or worse patterned shirt for the next time I was sent out to the beach, just for Tony! Ha!

And I did. I scoured all the thrift stores I could find and over the summer came up with some real winners. Tony always got a good laugh out of it, and viewers either loved them or hated them, but always tuned in to see what I’d come up with.

I realized that maybe I had something that was fun and could become “a thing.” The next year we had a very poor start to the summer, clouds, showers, a real slow start to the sunny weather we’d all been hoping for. One day on the 5:00 Newscast, anchor Deb Hope said, “Maybe if you wore one of your Hawaiian shirts,  you could magically turn the weather around?” Good idea! I waited till I saw that there would be a break in the weather. A rainy day, followed by a sunny day, and told Deb that the magic shirt would get summer started. Sure enough, I turned up the next day in the studio wearing a new Tommy Bahama tropical shirt, and the sun was shining and kept shining for the week.  

As the years went on, and the shirt collection grew, I was able to wear a different Tommy Bahama shirt every day between the 24th of May and Labour Day. I think one time I took inventory and I had amassed 120 shirts in the closet. Over the years, I’ve donated some of the shirts to charity auctions, and given some away as gifts. During my time at BCTV/Global, I received a number of Hawaiian-themed items from viewers, including handmade Hawaiian shirts, a Hawaiian-designed winter parka made by a lovely woman in 100 Mile House, a Hawaiian-shaped cookie jar, post-it notes, scratch pads, and even some beer can koozies.

The Hawaiian shirts were fun, drove Tony crazy, and to top it off they held a little Aloha magic. 

Till next week….
Wayne

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