Animal - Neon Trees
HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!
Shubenacadie Sam says "Early spring!"
Puxatawney Phil says "6 more weeks of winter!"
Wiarton Willie says "Early spring!"
Who am I kidding, I find the whole notion of this modern-day ritual barbaric. For anyone who is not familiar, in the dead of winter a rodent is yanked out of his slumber and put before crowds of screaming people who try to determine if they can see their shadow. If the shadow is spotted he gets scared and scurries back into burrow and 6 more weeks of winter weather is predicted.
Put two brain cells together and you will realize that if it is a sunny day the groundhog will see his shadow, if it is cloudy he will not. Do we really need to bring an innocent animal into all of this? Admittedly I have never partaken in one of these rituals as a spectator but have seen enough television coverage to know of the excited crowds, stage filled with "dignitaries", spotlights lighting up the darkness and one small furry creature cowering amongst the fuss they unwittingly created. Today's coverage had Puxatawney Phil being hoisted high above the crowds after having made his prediction. I honestly felt sorry for him. Rodents like the stability of the ground, they are not flying animals. You could see him looking wide-eyed at the earth so far below him.
I have always tried to put myself in the shoes of the poor groundhog. "I am enjoying a long winters sleep all snuggled up in my burrow. Suddenly a hand reaches in and yanks me out of my reverie and into the freezing cold February morning where hundreds are screaming and the one voice attached to my hand bellows to be heard above all. Pass the Tylenol quick! I just want to sleep but the lights - someone turn off those bright lights! Was I asleep that long that the sun multiplied 5 fold? No wait, the sun has never been that bright or that close! They are spotlights. I look around, I am frightened, I want to run and hide. If that guy squeezing me wasn't wearing gloves, I would bite him. Good thing I don't like the taste of leather! I will tell you one thing, all summer long as I am scurrying about I see my shadow and it doesn't frighten me back into my burrow. The only thing frightening me now is you! Humans with years of training and experience can't predict the weather. What makes you think I can?" lol!
Ironically in addition to all the news about the weather forecasting, Bob Barker is once again making headlines as he lends his voice to help prevent cruelty to animals. But he is attacking the show that made him a household name - The Price is Right. It seems that the television game show gave away a trip to the Calgary Stampede and Bob isn't happy about that. He says that the world famous Canadian rodeo has a history of animals dying at the festival and instances of animal cruelty. In fact two horses did die in last years chuckwagon race and the year before 6 horses were killed. However this is not the norm and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has a very visible presence at the festival. Now to be fair, Bob Barker doesn't just object to the Calgary Stampede, he claims all rodeos are barbaric and even takes issues with places like Sea World that has animals that should be free in captivity to perform for humans. I'll agree with him on that one, but I have issues with zoos and circuses for the same reason.
What I want to know is what is Bob Barkers' stance on Groundhog Day? These furry little rodents need someone to stand up for them and stop this cruelty. Willie, Phil and Sam have all done their part to put their hometowns on the map and infuse them with tourist dollars, but I'm not sure that it is still justified. Does anyone really believe that these predictions are fail-safe? In fact, in the last 30-40 years Puxatawney Phil's success rate is a mere 37% and I doubt if it goes much higher for the others. So why do we keep doing it? This year 2 of the three groundhogs predicted an early spring, will I be planning my vacation and future around this? I think not. In fact, it is quite likely that in a matter of a few weeks the predictions that interrupted the slumber of a few innocent creatures will be all but forgotten.
And I predict - are you ready for this? - that we will be cursing the furry little rodents when we get hit with an unseasonable snow fall in April! Don't put away the shovels and mittens yet folks :)
And just to further illustrate my point, it seems that Manitoba has a less-widely known rodent that goes by the name of Winnipeg Willow. According to the Canadian Press, he was so shocked by all the attention and fuss that she tried to bury herself in her handler's jacket. By virtue of not looking for her shadow, she did not see it and this perceived as a prediction of six more weeks of winter. And nobody sees it as a form of animal cruelty as the animal has obviously been traumatized.
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