I got back from my wintry run this morning in time to see the whole Punxsutawney Phil "celebration" on television.
What a sad state of affairs.
19
years ago, I and some other runners in my club went down to Punxsutawney
to see the spectacle in person. Gobblers Notch was a little outside of
the town, and there were buses that took us from the town to Gobblers
Notch.
The overnight festivities were awesome. It was cold when
we were there, so there was a lot of alcohol that was passed around that
night. If you think of it as a metal concert, complete with mosh pit,
this came close. The crowd was cheering the loudest when they took Phil
out, and derisively booed him when he said that we had 6 more weeks of
winter to go.
It was all in good fun though.
This year? When watching it on television, the first thought in my head? How sad.
No wild crowds, no enthusiastic cheering. Just a virtual ceremony. It was so quiet there!
Another tradition ruined.
Did
a virus shut this down? A virus with a 99.98% survival rate? Or is it
more likely the governments' overblown reaction to this virus that shut
this down, just like everything else?
It's a reminder to defend
your own family's traditions as much as you can and not to allow these
people to influence those as well. Keep as many of your own customs and
traditions as much as you can; you cannot allow those to be swept aside
as the government wishes.
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