Its Groundhog Day, 2012

Happy Groundhog's Day. As we all know, according to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on February 2nd, then spring will come early. If it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will continue for six more weeks.

For the first time in my life, this morning I actually watched the TV coverage of the hoopla surrounding Punxsutawney Phil's seasonal prognostication. I saw the famous marmot ceremoniously removed from his cage and presented to the crowd. He then huddled with his handlers, all decked out in top hats, snappy ties and long formal coats, so the proper proclamation could selected and read aloud to his fans. If you haven't heard, this year we were told to expect six more weeks of winter. With all of the camera lights on him, however, I'm not sure how Phil couldn't have seen his shadow.

This ceremony at Gobblers Knob, in southwestern Pennsylvania, is apparently now 126 years old. Although not the background of a popular Hollywood movie like Punxsutawney, other communities also have similar traditions. New York has Staten Island Chuck and this year, his prediction was an early spring. Sir Walter Wally, from North Carolina, agreed with Phil, but a little further south, in Georgia, General Beauregard Lee called for an early spring. This should be a good year for the U.S. Midwest, as, in Illinois, Woodstock Willie predicted an early spring. In Canada, Aberta's Balzac Billy and Quebec’s Fred la Marmotte both saw their shadow, but Ontario's Wiarton Willie and Nova Scotia’s Shubenacadie Sam did not.

I get the impression that bona-fide meteorologists, using satellite images, Doppler radars, and scientific approaches to predict the weather are a little put off by all of the attention heaped upon these groundhogs and their uneducated observations. They put no faith in these silly predictions. Therefore, my plan is to take a groundhog to Hawaii, name him Aloha Al, make sure that he never sees his shadow and prove them wrong.