Groundhog Day

Friday was one of those special holidays that only comes around once a year...Ground Hog Day! It's one of those strictly American holidays that leaves the rest of the world scratching their head and wondering, "What the hell?" As unscientific as these prognostications may seem, I sometimes believe that these lowly little groundhogs have more sense than most of our elected leaders. The one here at the Milwaukee Zoo opted to sleep in for a bit due to the cold and finally refused to come out, while the "famous" Puxatawnee? Phil in Pennsylvania barely came out for more than a minute to proclaim that he had indeed seen his shadow and that Spring would shortly arrive. Now, my logic is that if these intelligent little creatures (I should know... I have been trying to kill the one in my backyard for two years... unsuccessfully) are smart enough to know when not to stick one's neck out, why can't those wise sages in Washington figure out how to get out of this mess in Iraq --quickly and somewhat gracefully? I fully realize that it may seem quite odd to compare the wisdom of a groundhog to that of a supposedly higher life form, but as the mess overseas has continued to drag on, maybe the groundhog has a bit more sense.
PS: Its my favorite holiday because it happens to be my birthday --this has caused me to be the recipient of more than a few comments through the years, and NO I did not see my shadow Friday morning!