Random Thoughts While Driving in Waco

By Jack Smith

Hope you had a happy Groundhog Day. It’s a holiday (kinda sorta) that no one can really object to, except maybe the groundhog that gets pulled out of his groundhog hole. There are several things about Groundhog Day that are weird, the first being, why does it exist? I looked it up, and it started as a Pennsylvania German celebration more than 160 years ago, but I don’t really know why.

The groundhog, which is a rodent, comes out of his hole (with help from a human puller) and looks around. If he (Punxsutawney Phil) sees his shadow, he figures that there will be six more weeks of winter, so he goes back in his hole. If he (or she — it could be Punxsutwaney Phyllis) doesn’t see his or her shadow, it means that spring is just around the corner, so he or she can stay out of the hole. This is counterintuitive. If the sun is shining, that should mean that spring is nearer than if it’s cloudy and cold. But what do you expect from a large rodent?

How accurate is the groundhog’s annual prediction? Groundhog Day proponents say that it is accurate 75 to 95 percent of the time. Actual scientific studies say that is accurate only 39 percent of the time. Therefore, the groundhog has about the same degree of accuracy as real meteorologists.

Have you given up your New Year’s resolutions yet? I thought I would exercise more this year, but I have decided that if God wanted me to touch my toes, he would have put them higher on my body.

It is said that for every mile that you jog, you add one minute to your life. If you are a regular jogger, this enables you, at age 85, to spend an additional five months in a nursing home at $7,000 per month…

Find the full article on page 34 of the February 2012 Wacoan magazine