I don’t know how Punxsutawney Phil is doing in your neck of the woods, but since he came out of his dang hole, all we have had around here is bad weather. Up until Phil got in the game, it was downright balmy in southwest Ohio. The past two days have been 1. ice and 2. snow.
Alright, alright, it is February. And we’ve been spoiled like Kardashian Kids all winter long. But I think they should give up the entire groundhog deal. Albeit, the Bill Murray commercial from Super Bowl Sunday was the best ad in many, many years. The groundhog can act, I’ll give him that.
But I’m talking about the weather because it is a safe subject. My Mom, would warn, quite sternly, “Never talk about religion or politics.” She heard it from her Dad, and passed it on to me. Yet, I have a tendency to talk about both, as did my grandfather.
Anyway, for today, let’s stick to meteorology. That is the branch of science concerned with the atmosphere. Yes, all the processes and phenomena of the atmosphere. And when all that is considered, it evolves as a means of forecasting the weather.
I’m not sure why it is called meteorology. Whenever I hear it, I am certain some huge meteor is hurtling its way through space, on its way to crash violently to earth, where Morgan Freeman is be our President, telling us to fight the good fight. That is, right before he dies a terrible death, by said meteor.
But, that’s what they call it, and when you are the Big Kahuna at your local TV studio, you become the “Chief Meteorologist.” I guess they can order the other meteorologists around like minions. This world is full of chiefs, isn’t it?
Let’s get back to Punxsutawney Phil. First the location. It would have made things a lot easier on everyone if he had been Pittsburgh Phil. As the crow flies, Pittsburgh is just about 100 miles southwest of Punxsutawney, and a heck of a lot easier to spell. This was their first error in judgement.
Second error. He’s a groundhog. And really, I’ve never known a groundhog who knows crap about the weather. They hibernate in the winter. They emerge in early Spring. That is sometime after March 20, generally. Their body temperature drops to 40º F during hibernation time. They stay sleepy until early April. Why would anyone think Phil could be roused out of slumber in February to give a weather report? Camden Carl doesn’t come out of his hole — wellllll — not ever really.
The next mistake is up for discussion. Over the years, the Farmer’s Almanac has listed several different animals as weather predictors. This includes cows, sheep, frogs, birds, crickets, ladybugs, bees, butterflies, and wooly bear caterpillars. I think anyone of these would have made a better choice, give the track record of Punxy P. He’s only been right about 39% of the time. (Punxy P is his stage name, now that he’s made it big with the Bill Murray commercial.)
Well. He’s cute. I’ll give him that. He’s the largest member of the squirrel family, and if you are related to those adorable squirrels, you must be okay.
The bottom line to all of this? The weather is a lot like life.
First, it is hard predict. We never know for sure what is coming down the pike. We can prepare all we want. Guess. Postulate. Buy rubber boots. But we don’t know what is going to happen until the moment it gets here. Same with the minutes of this day, and every other.
And secondly? Like the weather, life is certain to change. No matter how much destruction and chaos that out-of-control storm might be wreaking, sometime soon, it will be moving elsewhere, and some other kind of weather will come along. There might be an absolutely glorious, sun filled, warm day, right on the horizon. And that will change again too.
I have to remember these things, because sometimes, it feels like the storm is pounding down on all of us, and we are running out of umbrellas.
Nonetheless. We still have Phil, popping his little groundhog head up, pointing his little furry finger toward brighter days ahead. We should all keep Spring in our hearts, where those flowers bloom, and the warmth spreads out in all beautiful measures. In our hearts, in our minds, that warmth. And we give it to others, that warmth. The beacons in the storm. We.
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“I am still learning.”
— Michelangelo
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“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
— Confucius
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“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.”
— Buddha
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