Saturday, February 02, 2008

Happy Groundhog Day!


Bad news, gang! Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. That means we have to look forward to another six weeks of winter. There may be some hope, though. General Beauregard, down in Georgia, did not see his shadow. This raises some questions regarding the reliability of these obviously well-fed, furry prognosticators.

Which one of them should we believe? Why did they derive two different answers to the same question? Were the testing conditions identical in both cases? Has one been more reliable than the other in past trials? We really need the answers to these and many other questions before we can make plans for the remainder of the winter. (Notice the built-in assumption in that last statement: I'm assuming that there will be more winter for us. I've known Phil all of my life, whereas I never heard of Beau before today. Past history counts for a lot in an important matter like this. Therefore, I'm going with Phil's answer. Sorry, Beau. Keep in touch in case I change my mind in the future. You know where to find me.)

This is a significant dilemma. If Beau is right, then it's already too late to plan a winter vacation. If you haven't taken one yet, you've missed your chance. On the other hand, if Phil is right, you've still got time to book a flight to someplace sunny and warm. I suggest that you diligently ponder these prophecies with due seriousness and adapt your behavior accordingly. Let me just say that, if I were you, I wouldn't put away that snow shovel yet.



P.S.: Do any of you Canadians know what Wiarton Willie predicted? Was he able to burrow out of his hole into the snowdrift? Did he even want to?

8 comments:

Christian said...

I lived 4 years of my life in Punxsutawney and it is indeed an interesting place. My 5th and 6th grade teacher's husband is one the key members of the Inner Circle. Not much has changed in Punxsy in the 24 years since I first moved there, but its population has decreased considerably. When we lived there it was about 7500 now it is only 6100.

Stephen said...

Great news! Wiraton Willy did not see his shadow, nor did the little guy over in Nova Scotia, nor did the little guy in Balsac Alberta. It looks like spring will come to the great White North earlier than to our American Cousins! We will have to send our warm northern winds down to the States to give you guys a hand out of the frozen south.

Evie said...

Well, General Beauregard's prediction may apply to the south, so they should be okay. We in the Mid-Atlantic may need some of those friendly winds. I'll let you know.

Jenn said...

i thought that willy died last year.

Evie said...

Maybe his ghost is back. Or maybe he has stand-in. How many dogs actually played Lassie over the years? Three or four?

Stephen said...

Ya, Willie died - but his prodogy has taken over.

Barbara said...

yep, Canadians are going to see an early spring. Sorry to all you Americans. Thanks Willy!

Catharine said...

I have visited Wiarton Willie's home - very interesting. I think Willie's percentage for accuracy is quite high! Yahoo! I must say, though, that I love snow but in a few weeks I will have had enough of the dirty stuff.