It really sucks to relive the same miserable cold day over and over again Bill Murray
doesn't handle it to well in the beginning. He managed to hit on every girl in town,
which usually ended with a slap to the face. He killed himself a handful of times,
one of which he gets a toaster and drops it in the tub. My favorite part of the movie
is when he kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and takes him for a hot pursuit chase though
town in a 1971 Chevy pickup. This ends with Bill Murray and Phil at the bottom of
a quarry in a fiery ball of flames. Just to wake up the next morning to, "I got you babe"
on the radio. He turns it around from there using his time a little more wisely
by saving a kid from falling out of a tree, carving ice, learning the piano, and changing
a tire for a car full of old ladies. He kind of becomes a renaissance man by the end.
That movie can be seen on Groundhog Day and is enjoyed in my house.
So a couple years ago I thought I would go and see what this Groundhog Day in
Unadilla was all about. Dale Jergensen, Emily, and I hopped in the Go fire
and took off to Unadilla to their Groundhog Day celebration. It was a great
time. Emily got her fill of parade candy. I got to see a collection of
1930's era 4 door cars, and others dating to 1905. We met Gayle and
Nancy Hanshaw, who had arrived after a very brisk roadster ride. So the next
year we drove our Model A's. I took Daniel, Emily, and my Dad in my car.
Dale, Bob Benton, Charlie Earnest, and a friend rounded out the Omaha group.
Again we had a great time.
So this year, we watched the weather, concerned with the possible
snowfall. When someone asked, "How cold would it have to be for you not to go?"
I responded, "I didn't want to go in a blizzard". So we finalized our plans
Friday night and took off at 10 am Saturday. Dale planned this one so I met him,
Steve Zikmund, Greg Bowden, and Bob Benton in Gretna. We departed on our 50 mile
trip to Unadilla. The ride was a little cold, but none of us seemed to mind.
We made it with no problems. We looked over the car collection where we saw
Bob Benton's recently sold Buick which was a really cool car. Afterwards
we went to the Methodist Church and had lunch. Here we met Gayle and Nancy
who brought their tudor this year. The Lincoln Cornhusker club came with
several Model A's. It was fun and the food was great. After lunch we got
in our cars and ran in the Parade. John Moss, with the car collection,
pulled out as many cars as he had friends willing to drive them.
On the trip back we stopped at the Linoma lighthouse. The temperature was
a very nice 47 degrees on the drive back making for a pleasant drive. A
little over a 100 mile day trip is pretty darn good for the beginning
of February.
According to Times mag. As you may know Friday Feb 3 The esteemed groundhog
Punxsutawney Phil of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania saw his shadow and predicted
six more weeks of winter. Groan!!! according to Time Magazine. Phil did see
his shadow last year and was accurate for just 36 percent of his region,
the magazine noted. Rather than ascribing a groundhog prediction to the whole
nation, TIME took a more regional approach in its calculation. TIME looked at
last year’s predictions and then the temperature reports for National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration weather stations surrounding the groundhog’s home
city. By this rating, the groundhogs can be a certain percent correct or incorrect.
In 2017, Phil wasn’t the most accurate groundhog: he was only 36% correct.
In 2017, Unadilla Bill had a 83% accuracy rate according to TIME Magazine.
2018, according to the Unadilla Bill – Groundhog Celebration Bill predicts an
early spring. What the old saying goes if you don't like the weather wait a
minute or two it will change. Nebraskans learn to take the weather as it comes
and like it. I think I will go with Unadilla Bill's report. Spring is right
around the corner. See you behind the wheel,
John Leddy