Why the Groundhog Should Not Be Ridiculed

Here we stand, only three weeks past groundhog day. And what do we see outside? Snow. Freezing, cold, snow. With one nice day, where only two long-sleeved shirts and a winter coat was sufficient, we are back to the snow. And who gets blamed? The groundhog. Living in Pennsylvania, this is all I hear, how the groundhog lied. Why is this? Let's just forget for one moment that groundhogese is not actually a language, at least not one that humans can understand. Unless you are a fictional character named Dr. Doolittle, it is not something you can study to learn and speak. Let us also forget for a moment that the groundhog is merely an animal (which I am sure to many animal rights activists, is much more important than the lives of many humans.) But in a normal person's thoughts, it is merely an oversized rat. A kind of cute creature that is "neat" to see in your yard occasionally. Now, a groundhog lives an average of five years, ten at the most, so we can guarantee that "Punxsutawny Phil" is probably Phil number 15 or more.

Now, we pause for a minute. Visualize this. A man in a park walks up to you and your children and tells you that the birds told him that winter was coming to a sooner end than our calendars tell us, what would you do? I think I would run away from him for fear that he could be dangerous, and I would find the nearest police officer to escort him to a high-security mental institution with a padded room. Now, add to your visual, a top hat, and hours of that "interesting person" standing out in the cold to hear this creature "speak to him". You decide where the man belongs. Should he be paid quite well for his "ability"? Or should he be locked up?

The point I get at is this, if we choose to trust a strange man who understands an animal "talking to him", it is bound to be inaccurate information. Does anyone truly believe that a groundhog can predict the fate of winter? Honestly, I doubt it. It is like being with an entire town of 21 year olds. Any reason to have a party is good enough for me! It's the neighbor's cat's birthday, who is buying the keg? Or, my cousin's half-brother's daughter got married, have a party and consider inviting them. Any excuse to party, right?

And for all of you that actually believe in the groundhog predicting winter's end, dont. And if you still do, consider this, if winter seems to come to an end even a day before those six weeks are up, then the "groundhog" was right. Please stop complaining about it before then. It is annoying, to say the least. If the winter bothers you that much, move to a warmer state. As for me, I will continue to ridicule anyone who blames the groundhog for cold snowy winter continuing after February 2nd.