Campfyre Stories

I’m really done with winter.  My hair is done with winter, my body is done with winter, my spirit is DONE with winter.  Unfortunately, winter is still not done with me.

So last night, as we were listening to the weather forecast (for more damned snow), I mentioned to Spawn (tongue-in-cheek) that I blame the groundhog.  He looked at me like I had grown a second head.  Apparently, we had ALL been remiss in his education of US Legends and he had NO IDEA what Groundhog Day actually was.  (He has some fault in this as well for never having asked about it.)

So I explained the lore, and he thought I was loony for sharing this information with him.  Let me just say that explaining Groundhog Day to a 14 year old really makes you realize just how ridiculous a tradition this whole thing is.  His immediate question was "All the groundhogs in the world?  Or just a specific one?"  This, of course, led me to explain about the handful of "famous" groundhogs and the only actual name I know which, of course, is Punxsutawny Phil.  He nearly fell off his chair laughing at me as I stammered through the explanation that there is ACTUALLY a town called Punxsutawny, PA.  I can’t even imagine what would have happened had I been fully up on the lore and told him that Phil emerges from a place called Gobbler’s Knob. 

Frankly, it was a rather humiliating experience for me.  Has I been making it up, I wouldn’t have minded nearly so much, but to give my kid factual information on some US lore and be mocked for it  was not really something I particularly wanted to deal with.

So for all you parents out there who have failed to explain Groundhog Day to your children, I implore you, save yourself some embarrassment and tell them while they’re young.  And maybe don’t tell them about the name of the place from which Phil emerges…  ever…  especially if they’re boys.