Wednesday, February 02, 2005

On Hallowed Groundhogs

Mornings at the homestead are a desultory time for the three of us, but I beat the girls out of bed every day. I need at least 30 min. to get to operational speed and have to concentrate just to avoid putting dry dog food in the coffee grinder. I put on a talk show on the TV just because the discourse--even when it is inane--helps get the brain engaged.

This morning however our little was more animated than usual, and as I came out of the kitchen in wait for my pot to brew she was bouncing on the floor and says, "Dad! We're going to find out if he sees his shadow today!" I look up at the screen and I see the image of the Pope sitting at his ornate throne and I swear it took me 10-15 seconds of wondering why the hell the Pontiff would be so consumed with how he was blotting the sunrise when it finally registered that it was Groundhog's day. Amazing how we have scientists the world over proclaiming that they are convinced our weather is going to melt the polar ice cap, and yet we still rely on the prognostication of a corpulent rodent to gauge the blustery months.

By the way, the Pope saw his shadow so we have 6 more weeks of fasting ahead. Where's my coffee....

Posted by Anonymous :: 6:05 PM :: | ---------------------------------------