Groundhogs Day Doesn’t Happen In Vegas
Feb 2, 2007 Unordered Miscellany
I remember growing up in Northern Utah with it’s cold inversion weather and very few days of warm sun during the winter months. By the time February rolled around, people were just starting to get sick of winter and hoping for a break from phat ol’ Punxsatawney Phil (I can’t remember the “official” Groundhog’s Day mascot for Utah, I just recall he was at Hoggle Zoo). Surprisingly for a superstitious “holiday”, Groundhog’s Day was fairly popular in Utah. Every February 2nd, the talk of the town was the rodent on the news.
I felt the same vibe for Groundhog’s Day when I lived in Denver.
The Groundhog had even more fame in Kansas City, which is known for its Midwestern ice storms during this time of year. People were almost praying to this mascot for an early spring.
In all three places, I was amazed at how many people actually believed this legend. I’m not talking about “let’s play along because it’s cute” type of mindset. I am referring to people who would actually feel crushed and break down and cry if they didn’t get the prediction they wanted. And if they did hear what they wanted to hear, the level of enthusiasm would be near sickening.
I’m proud to say, that here in Vegas, I didn’t hear a damn thing about any neurotic Groundhogs or their fear of shadows this year! And it makes sense. Our Spring is already well underway. During the week we have been enjoying weather in the 50’s and 60’s, and I don’t expect that it will snow anytime soon. The majority of people here really don’t give a rat’s ass about a groundhog. We know what to expect already.
So, I guess I subconsciously achieved a goal of escaping what I feel is a pretty worthless holiday by moving to Vegas. I’ve always felt it was silly, even in the cities I lived that somewhat celebrated it. Sure, if I lived in Pennsylvania or someplace that had a full celebration with festivals and such, I’d probably have enjoyed it much more. (I’ll celebrate for almost any reason.) But when the entire Holiday consists of a news anchor saying “Well, it looks like we’re getting 6 more weeks of cold snow. The Mystic Groundhog saw his shadow and ran back into his hole. Well, try to have a Happy Groundhog’s Day anyway. Heh heh!” and that’s the extent of the celebrations, then why even bother? Really, no matter what the next six weeks weather is like, it’s the human perspective that matters. If your mentality is preset to be “doom and gloom” for the next six weeks based on trigger set by a Groundhog, then I suspect you have other issues to deal with. Try therapy.
Now for those of you who celebrate because it’s fun. Good for you. I hope you all had a lot of fun today. Especially if you actually had a full-on celebration.
So, uh, Happy Groundhog’s Day and I hope it didn’t mess with your head.
