Via WaPo Punxsutawney Groundhog Sees His Shadow
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, but it was hard to find a complainer in the crowd on Gobbler’s Knob, where the morning temperature was well above freezing and Thursday’s high was expected to hit 48 degrees.There were a few boos at the groundhog’s prediction of six more weeks of winter, but most of the hundreds of revelers instead turned the event into an impromptu Pittsburgh Steelers rally.
Really, how does one know that the giant rodent in question saw his shadow?
I will say that Groundhog Day is a fantastic flick, Groundhog Days itself is a bit of a yawner.
Amusingly, Middle Son asked me this morning: “Dad, did that animal see its shadow”?
And, according to the story, it seems that the issue is really whether he casts a shadow or not:
The Germans believed that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 _ the Christian holiday of Candlemas _ winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.According to the Groundhog Club, Phil has now seen his shadow 96 times, hasn’t seen it 14 times and there are no records for nine years.
The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.
Surely, then, the issues is less about the animal, than about the lighting conditions?
And now I know we can blame all of this on the Germans.
Ahhh, Punxsutawney Phil. I grew up no more than 40 miles from Punx’y, as we call it. A few things you should know:
1. The groundhog supposedly talks to the Inner Circle guys. Yes, he TALKS. Or so they claim. So that’s how we “know” whether he saw his shadow - the Inner Circle guys translate whether he saw it or not.
2. The town in Groundhog Day is nothing like Punx’y. Punx’y is a small hick town - its houses are no where near that big. Also, Phil is not brought out in the morning in a park in downtown Punx’y, but on a hill ouside of town (Gobbler’s Knob). Ironically, that park is the only authentic piece of Punx’y in the film, but it is then used for the wrong purpose.
3. Hardly surprising that it broke out into a Steelers rally. Steeler mania is sweeping that area, as it always does when we make it to the Super Bowl. Probably a lot of Terrible Towels too. Go Steelers!
Comment by B. Minich, PI — Thursday, February 2, 2024 @ 9:19 am
Groundhog Day is an awesome movie, reguardless of its apparent lack of authenticity in setting. We used to rent it every year on Groundhog Day, but have broken with the tradition lately due to a general lack to time to watch movies.
Comment by Jan — Tuesday, April 18, 2024 @ 7:54 am