Good Morning, Class of '64
Another cloudy morning greets us, and another snowstorm will soon be layering new snow on old. It's the fault of all those whistle pigs who live in holes all across the country. They just couldn't keep their noses underground. Out they came into full daylight hoping to see their shadow. They could have stayed inside their warm dens and slept for another two months. But, no, there were humans on the outside to pester and prod. It's not enough for these rodents to make holes all over the fields in warmer months, they have to interfere with the colder months, too. Down with all groundhogs who make predictions for more winter weather. They should have all been like our own French Creek Freddie. No sunshiny day for him, so no shadow did he see.
***
On Sunday morning, French Creek
Freddie emerged from his burrow at the West Virginia Wildlife Center in
Upshur County and, in front of an estimated crowd of 400, did not see
his shadow. According to Groundhog Day tradition, that means an early
spring. 
Sunday was a cloudy, rainy day in much of West Virginia. Earlier in the day, roughly 200
miles away in Punxsutawny, Pa., the internationally famous Punxsutawney
Phil saw his shadow and, in doing so, predicted six more weeks of
winter.
***
In the class of '64, there are probably several who took aim at scampering groundhogs in those growing up years of so long ago. Many of you probably owned your own shot guns or rifles and took to the fields and woods on more than one occasion to hunt for squirrels or rabbits or larger game. You probably have stories to tell of those hunting trips and the family and friends who shared those times with you. Hunting folks lived in all the towns and on all the farms up and down the valley of our childhood.
***
Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you
really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in
a book, and remembering - because you can't take it in all at once.
No comments:
Post a Comment