Year after year, the pilot straps that piece of metal on, like a suit of armor. He wears it proudly and cautiously. The helicopter he wears is not his red badge of courage but it is the item that gives him the pin prick of reality. In the EMS world, the helicopter pilot and his aircraft are set apart in a different world of reality. In this world one item that he treats with utter respect is the weather.
Weather can change from minute to minute and hour to hour.
The weather that was here yesterday will not be the weather that is here today. The weather that will be here tomorrow could be radically different from today's. When in the sky and you encounter the unexpected fog bank, you cannot just turn off the road like you can when in a car. Safe conduct in the sky is the culmination of decisions and experiences that he has made on every flight that he has ever made. You cannot buy experience, it can only be lived and learned.