I'm Only the Trombone Player

Groundhog Day

If you subscribe to the rodent theory of weather prediction, today's Groundhog prognostications were at best a mixed bag.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. So, according to this resident of Pennsylvania, we're in for 6 more weeks of winter. Of course, Phil has an accuracy rate of 40%. Which might be as good as any other meteorologist.

Now here on Long Island, we have not one, but two, weather-predicting rodents. Holtsville Hal, from the easterly end of our fair island is calling for an early Spring (Go, Hal). Alas, Malverne Mel, who resides in our west end predicted six additional weeks of Winter.

So it looks like the long Winter vote has it. In past years we might have gotten a fourth vote from the rodent also known as Mel. He lived in Milltown, New Jersey. Unfortunately, Milltown Mel has suffered the heartbreak of too many failed predictions, he decided to cross over the rainbow bridge just before being made to prognosticate another year.

I wonder what other communities have their own groundhogs, peering around corners, looking for their shadows? Does yours? The trinket below gives a little history behind Ground Hogs Day.

The 1993 Bill Murry feature, Groundhog Day, had Murry's character trapped in a time loop, which made it more SciFi, than RomCom, at least in my eyes. The TV show Stargate SG-1 did a similar show "Window of Opportunity" in 2000. It's the sixth episode from season 4, if you'd like to check it out, it is available on Amazon Prime and Hulu. (I think).

Previous to the film, the repetition Murry's character experiences wasn't associated with Groundhog Day, which came later. after the movie. The film itself gives no explanation for the repetition, even though there was one in the script's first draft. Stephanie's Curse  , which she casts on Phil, the curse scene was deleted in the second draft.

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