One of Us: John Bolaris

The amiable, Emmy-award-winning Fox 29 meteorologist—and longtime man-about-town—takes a minute from his busiest season to come clean about his fear of commitment, his man-love for Howard Stern, and the Philly restaurant even he can’t get into

My full name is … John Edward Bolaris.

I am a … Greek-American.

I was born in … Long Island, New York.

I’ve lived in Philadelphia for … 15 years.

The thing I like most about myself is … my compassion for others.

The thing I would change about myself is … my commitment phobia.

My greatest extravagance is … eating out almost every day of my life. Including breakfast and lunch.

My perfect Philly day is … any day with my little girl. On the day I wrote this, I went to see her sing at her school concert — amazing. They sang We Are the World, a Michael Jackson tune. She’s six.

My fictional hero is … Batman. (The Batmobile is awesome.)

My real-life hero is … my mom.

The best thing I own is … my house in the Hamptons. It’s the only thing I own, besides my clothes.

Vetri or Garces? Garces. Can’t get a reservation at Vetri.

The question I get asked the most is … “Is it gonna snow? And how much? And at what time?”

One thing this city doesn’t have that it really needs is … a better taxi system.

My greatest fear is … blowing a forecast.

The best place to vacation is … Anguilla. No traffic lights.

If I could have any other job, I’d be … a professional ball player.

The best book I ever read is … Beach Road by James Patterson.

The thing that people generally don’t know about me is … that I was in the Air Force.

The best thing on television is … Boardwalk Empire.

The best bar in this city is … any bar that lets me in. Although Mac’s Tavern and GiGi in Old City are great hangs.

My greatest achievement … is my daughter, Reina Sofia.

The person I most envy is … Howard Stern. He came from nothing and worked extremely hard and took a lot of crap to become the very best at what he does. He’s a down-to-earth guy despite his wealth and fame. And he loves and adores his wife.

Being on television … makes one a little paranoid.

I’m just so sick of … Twitter.

The most trouble I’ve ever been in … is something I’m not allowed to say.

If I could switch places with one person for a day, it’d be … Paul McCartney.

My pet … is a cat my little girl and I rescued from PAWS. My girl named her Harry Potter.