"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"
Punxsutawney Phil has spoken: we shall have six more weeks of winter.
Seriously?? When have we not had six more weeks of winter?? I decided to do a little research on a Saturday morning. Although I couldn't find some actual statistics about Phil's predictions (okay, I admit. It's Saturday morning - I didn't look that hard). But here are a few history facts about Groundhog Day and our favorite groundhog:
~During Prohibition, Phil threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter on the community if he wasn't allowed a drink.
~ In 1958, Phil announced that he was a "United States Chucknik," rather than a Soviet Sputnik or Muttnik that became the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth.
~In 1981, Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran.
~Phil traveled to Washington DC in 1986 to meet with President Reagan. He was joined by Groundhog Club President Jim Means, Al Anthony and Bill Null.
~Phil met Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburg in 1987.
~In 1993, Columbia Pictures released the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.
~In the years following the release of the movie, record crowds numbering as high as 30,000 have visited Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney!
~Phil appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995.
~In 2001, Phil's prediction was shown live on the JumboTron at Times Square in New York City.
~Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended the ceremonies, making him the first sitting governor ever to do so.
Well, I know I was hoping for an early spring and apparently so were these guys:
Sorry, Buddy. We'll get out the bucket and shovel to play in the sand soon enough.
4 comments:
Love the picture of A with his spinny wands. He looks cute in his snow suit or a bathing suit, so who cares about the seasons?
OOPS!
It is warming up here (CA), but still a lot of rain...I know..shut up! (I see you found the mitten clips) email me some of these pictures of A coming! I need new ones for my photo frame!
Love you
Great post - learned so much about groundhog day! I actually saw the real location of the filming (which was in Wisconsin by the way, not at the actual Gobbler's Knob) when I was visiting a friend in Chicago.
Looking at the picture of A, can't you just see him on a tricycle with those fans whirring away?
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