General News

Mr. G ducks snowballs with a smile

by Jim Callaghan

Aug 9, 2007 10:55 AM

Teacher-turned-TV-weatherman Irv Gikofsky endured some good-natured ribbing from Hal Hanauer and Nat Alvich, two teachers from his days as a student at Francis Lewis HS. Here are a few of the one-liners that drew chuckles both from the crowd and Mr. G:

• Who couldn’t remember Irv Gikofsky? He was the smartest kid in Francis Lewis HS.
• You don’t believe us?
  
  That is what it says next to his name in the yearbook.
  
  He wrote it.
• We never knew he wanted to be a weatherman; we just thought it a bit odd that he always had his head out the window.
• Irv had an interesting theory about science — he insisted the sun rotated around the earth. We told him to read about Galileo and he came back with a story about Gallo Wines.
• Irv’s weather tips?
  
  If you plant your turnips early, it will be a cold winter.
  
  If you don’t see a groundhog on Feb. 2, go back to bed.
  
  When it snows, pray for a big storm so schools will close.
• But seriously folks, if we may. We are proud of Irv and his accomplishments. And we are thrilled to be here tonight among so many UFT friends, parents and students.
  
  And, of course, without the indispensable Irv, how would we know whether or not to keep our windows open tonight?
  
  His career proves that you can do anything you want, even if your favorite class in high school was gym.