Groundhog Blues and Question of the Month

Yesterday was Groundhog Day - the day the furry varmint comes out of his hole in the ground and determines if spring is coming soon, just by looking for his shadow. I've never really understood what the big deal is about this, but it seems to be a well-loved tradition.

When my son came home from school yesterday, he told me a sad thing happened.

"What was it?" I asked.

"They told us in school that the groundhog saw his shadow and that spring would be here soon."

I wrinkled my brows. "What's so sad about that?"

"It's a myth. It's sad that they keep spreading this silly story. When people find out it's not true, they're going to be sad. And then all the people who paid a lot of money to see the groundhog are going to be mad. It's a rip-off!"

Okay. So what do you think? Is Bubba right? Are people going to be upset when they learn the ground hog really can't predict when Spring is coming?  Or should we just uphold the Groundhog Day tradition?


Before I go, it's time for the question of the month, hosted by Michael D'Agostino.  This month's question, in time for Valentine's Day, is about love lost and found. I'm supposed to share a story about love I may have lost, or love I found.

Well, that's all a personal nature, and I really don't feel like sharing that. So, I'm going to tell you a story about someone else's love lost and found. I read this in a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, and thought it was the sweetest thing ever. And since I have a romantic heart, I'm going to share it for Valentines Day:

Winona was 19 when she met Edward. He was visiting his sister who was engaged to Winona's brother. They had a great chemistry, but unfortunately did not live near each other. It was agreed that they would write letters to keep in touch. (These were the days before the Internet.)

The correspondence lasted for many months. Then the letters from Edward stopped coming. Winona assumed Edward had lost interest.

Many years later, she married another man and had a family. She learned through her sister-in-law that Edward married a couple years after her.

Eventually, one of Edwards daughters had a wedding. Winona was also invited to the wedding. After 30 years, Edward and Winona were meeting again. The chemistry was still there, but the conversation was polite.

Ten years later, Edward's wife died. Winona sent him a sympathy card. Two years after that, Winona's husband died. Edward wrote to her. Once again, they were corresponding.

Edward wrote often. After six months of writing, he came to visit for two weeks. And then do you know what happened? He asked her to marry him!

She said, "yes."  They got married and lived happily ever after.

In case you're wondering what happened with the original letter-writing, Edward's mother had destroyed Winona's letters because she didn't want to lose her youngest son. Forty-three years later, Winona found him.

Isn't that sweet?