John Bolaris thinks of himself as being a pretty down-to-earth, approachable guy.
You spot him in a bar or restaurant, and want to amble over to ask about the weather, maybe take a picture? Go ahead, he’s game.
But the Fox 29 chief meteorologist isn’t too pleased about an encounter he had last week with a boorish brute who left him bruised and bloodied in Avalon, N.J.
Bolaris, 52, said he headed to his favorite Shore town in the wee hours on Sept. 4, not long after he finished his shift at Fox.
He walked into the Circle Tavern at the Princeton, on Dune Drive near 21st Street, at 1:30 a.m.
“I was supposed to meet some buddies of mine, but they weren’t there. I was in there for about 10 minutes, watching highlights of the Boise [State football] college game,” Bolaris said.
He left the pub when his pals sent him a text-message, inviting him to their house for a few beers.
Outside, a girl approached and — you guessed it — asked about the weather.
“I told it her, ‘It’ll be nice.’ Then this guy comes over and starts jumping around me in circles, kinda acting strange.
“I looked at him and said, ‘You OK, buddy?’ He kept moving in circles, then he yells ... and tackles me into the street.”
During the ensuing tumble, the weatherman said, his head smacked against a curb, and his finger was cut to the bone.
“There was blood everywhere. The guy took off down an alley,” he said, still sounding shocked by the whole thing.
An Avalon police sergeant yesterday confirmed that an ambulance was called to the scene that morning to treat Bolaris for a hand injury.
The weatherman, who thinks he might have suffered a concussion during the takedown, wants justice.
He recalled the incident yesterday morning on the “Preston and Steve Show” on 93.3 WMMR-FM, and later to the Daily News, hoping that someone will help police catch the lunkhead.
“I’m really aggravated that someone would do that and try to get away with it. My head could’ve cracked open,” he said.
“I want to press charges. He needs to sit in a jail cell for a couple of days.”
Bolaris described the attacker as a twentysomething white man, about 5-feet-8, 165 pounds, with a blondish buzz-cut.
Tipsters can contact Avalon police at 609-967-3411.
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where was Alycia Lane during all this?— BHite15- Shoobie's suck. I bet it was Bill Henley in disguise!— Big Ragu
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- is a little tool. cocky little dude who is soooo overated. Couldnt make it in NYC, had to crawl back to philly.— meaned
- That's what you get for going to Avalon. Place sucks. And they beat up people who can't get the forecast right.— Gmilst1
- A drunk "twentysomething white man, about 5-feet-8, 165 pounds, with a blondish buzz-cut." That's half of Avalon on a summer weekend. Avalon is brimming with angry drunk frat boys.— p-diddy
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- Unbelievable how many people can't handle their alcohol these days. The amazing thing is these people think they're tough, and what they really are is a joke.— bobbyd24
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- i'm not violent and would never dance around anyone, but i would probably punch that guy if i was drunk. is that a bad thing?— stanley
- Maybe it was Guarino.— scootch
- I met him at a gas station once. He was so arrogant when I tried to just say hello, I wanted to pour gas on him, but the price had just gone up to $2.00 and I felt he wasn't worth it!— einreb
- Was the dude's name Kevin? Apparently he's got a temper.— WorldBleepingChampions
Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.
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Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.
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Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.
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Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.
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