Believe the facts this Groundhog Day

Groundhog day is today. The oversized rodents that dig gaping holes as entrances to their homes are represented by Phil from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Phil lives in a library but I doubt if he can read. I wonder if he thinks his home is a prison, or if he thinks it’s heaven because all his needs are met without him having to do anything. I wonder if he misses being able to run around outside where he can feel the earth under his feet. I wonder if he is lonely.

Phil supposedly predicts how much longer it will be before we can finally put the snow shovel away. I find it interesting that an animal that only gets to go outside one day a year can predict how much longer winter will hang around.

Phil doesn’t have a very high accuracy rate. He’s been doing this since 1887 but his predictions have been correct only 34 to 38 percent of the time, depending which website you believe. It is more about a light hearted few hours than it is about accuracy. This year will be a bit different because of the social distancing requirements. I wonder if anyone has made a mask for Phil.

This year I would prefer an animal that can tell us how much longer the pandemic will last. Rabbits already have a holiday. Wooly worms supposedly can also predict weather by their coloring but they are exceedingly hard to find during the cold weather. Dogs can find drugs, people, lost souls and any number of other things, so they are too busy to deal with such trivia. They wouldn't tell us if they could. They figure that there is nothing they can do about it so why worry?

Cats are ruled out not because they are incapable of predicting weather, disease or anything at all, but mostly because they don’t care if the weather is bad or not. They don’t care if we are ill. As long as they get food, water and a roof over their heads, I doubt if they care if we are sick,

The best we can do is follow the recommendations of the scientists. We are all tired of wearing masks. We are all tired of washing our hands so often that they are always chapped. We are tired of social distancing. As humans, we crave touch. Leaving our loved ones to die alone is tragic. We are finally developing vaccines that will help to defeat the disease. My husband has had his shot but I am still too young.

Perhaps the worst thing about the pandemic is the arguments between people who have different beliefs. We have each formed our opinions on the information we are given. Raised voices have never changed anyone’s opinion about what is or is not true.

In addition to being Groundhog day, it is the anniversary of Mom’s death. As much as I miss her, I am so grateful she does not have to go through the pandemic. All the scare tactics and misinformation would be too much for her to deal with.

After all is said and done, winter will be over when it wants to, no matter what Phil or anything else indicates. The same goes for the pandemic. Nothing lasts forever, it just seems that way.