"They're like the vietcong...varmintcong. So what you got to do...you got to fall back on superior firepower and superior intelligence. And that's all she wrote."
Posted on 02/02/2004 9:49:56 AM PST by presidio9
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. - If you're tired of winter, Punxsutawney Phil had a message for you Monday — get used to it.
After a rap on an oak stump roused him from his home on Gobbler's Knob, the world's most famous furry forecaster "saw" his shadow this chilly Groundhog Day (news - web sites) morning, which according to tradition means six more weeks of winter.
Phil even included a topical reference in his proclamation — to the capture of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
"I'm glad I live in this luxurious burrow on the knob, and not in a dirty, smelly, spider hole like a slob," said the proclamation read aloud by one of the organizers. "When I come out, I don't want to negotiate; but to just do my job and prognosticate."
The prediction drew boos from thousands who gathered in 17-degree weather for the 118th annual festivity run by the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
The spirited crowd, some clad in furry groundhog hats or even full-length costumes, chanted "Phil! Phil! Phil!" after fireworks and a long night of rock music drew to an end and the hour of the ceremony neared.
Including Monday's prediction, the groundhog is reported to have seen his shadow 104 times since the tradition began in Punxsutawney. It is rooted in a German superstition that if a hibernating animal casts a shadow Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says spring will come early.
People from as far away as England descended on this small town to shake the winter doldrums.
Mike and Anne Castledine, a retired couple from Derbyshire, England, caught groundhog fever after seeing the Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day," and just wanted to experience it for themselves.
"We were quite hooked once we'd seen the movie," Anne Castledine said Sunday.
What Groundhog Day entails is a lot of revelry, although alcohol has been banned from Gobbler's Knob, the site just outside town where Punxsutawney Phil appears.
"We couldn't care less if he sees his shadow," said Bill Cooper, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. "It's a people holiday."
Punxsutawney Phil is perhaps the most watched on Groundhog Day, but he certainly isn't alone among marmot meteorologists. More than a dozen states celebrate the day with their own critters, including Dixie Dan in Mississippi, Buckeye Chuck in Ohio and Gen. Beauregard Lee in Georgia.
Even Pennsylvania has a competing ceremony. About 165 miles to the southeast, the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville has been forecasting with the animals since 1908.
Wonder if Phil's Southern counterpart, Gen Beauguard saw his shadow
(Good gig if your a groundhog)
"They're like the vietcong...varmintcong. So what you got to do...you got to fall back on superior firepower and superior intelligence. And that's all she wrote."
LILBURN, Ga. - Get the sun screen ready, it'll be an early spring in Georgia.
At least that's the report from General Beauregard Lee, Georgia's groundhog. The portly prognosticator was lured from his miniature antebellum mansion Sunday morning with a bowl of Waffle House hash browns, the first year organizers have used this particular method of drawing him out.
It worked, too. The crowd of about 300 had to wait only about a minute before Beau peeked through the swinging doors of his house at the Yellow River Game Ranch in suburban Atlanta.
"We called them saloon doors, but folks objected to that," master of ceremonies Col. Art Rilling said.
Groundhog Day lore says that when a groundhog sees his shadow on Feb. 2, six more weeks of winter will follow. But even with clear skies Sunday, Beau predicted an early spring for the fifth straight year.
He's the second groundhog to forecast at the Yellow River Game Ranch; his predecessor, General Robert E. Lee, was retired after a decade of Groundhog Day service.
There were a few changes at the ranch this year. Bleachers were added to provide room for the growing attendance, and the Georgia state flag wasn't flown outside of Beau's home because of the controversy surrounding it.
Legislators changed the flag in 2001 at the urging of then-Gov. Roy Barnes, shrinking the Confederate battle emblem. So instead, a U.S. flag adorned the pole beside the door of the mini-mansion.
That flag was flown at half-staff in remembrance of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia.
The crowd braved a 30-degree temperature to watch Beau emerge at 7:34 a.m.
"Some folks kind of question your sanity," Rilling said in his opening remarks. "We think you're sane."
How accurate is Beau's prediction? Last year, about three weeks after he proclaimed an early spring, green buds began appearing on willow trees. On the last day of the six-week prediction period, March 16, the high temperature in Atlanta was a balmy 78 degrees.
Ohio's official version of the groundhog agreed with Beau: Buckeye Chuck emerged from his burrow outside a Marion, Ohio, radio station, and did not see his shadow.
But the most famous of all groundhogs, Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of winter.
Mid-westerners we get an early spring!!!Ohio's official version of the groundhog agreed with Beau: Buckeye Chuck emerged from his burrow outside a Marion, Ohio, radio station, and did not see his shadow.
Nobody needs to see exposed groundhog boobies. Think of the children.
Pam Anderson thinks you are worse than Hitler for even thinking that.
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