February 2, 2011 – Kathy Waller

According to his PR people, Punxsatawney Phil did not see his shadow, so spring will arrive early this year.

He also predicted the Steelers will win the Super Bowl.

His official statement appears here.

I don’t give much credence to P. Phil’s forecasts. When I was very young, my mother let me in on the secret that even if the groundhog didn’t see his shadow and scoot back into his burrow, we would still have to endure another six weeks of coats and scarves before spring arrived.

And thus was a seed of cynicism planted in a young girl’s heart.

That’s okay. It comes in handy.

At present, Austin’s official temperature is 25 degrees Fahrenheit. My laptop gadget reads 23 degrees.

My right hand and the little strip of skin between the bottom of my bluejeans and the top of my sock is about minus 2.

im testionmg tp see wjetje4r I cfnm tu[e wi9tju gl;ves om.

Obviously not. That looks like a visual rendition of what happened when my cousin Jimmy wore his baseball glove while practicing the piano.

According to the article cited below, when P. Phil was making his proclamation, the temperature was 35 degrees. That means Pennsylvania was 10 degrees warmer than the air on the other side of the sliding glass door beside my chair.

That is not right.

Because of the storm (here called a “norther”) Texas is experiencing a series of planned rolling blackouts. How long they’ll last can’t be predicted. I’ve turned off lights, television, oven, and coffee maker. I set the thermostat on 65 and hope that’s low enough to make a difference. I turned off the desktop computer. Then I tried to access the wireless network from the laptop.

D’oh.

I turned the desktop back on. With the thermostat at 65, and all the lights and appliances off, perhaps that one extra computer won’t upset the grid.

Central Texans are officially keyed up in anticipation of tomorrow’s possible snowfall, perhaps one to three inches, perhaps. Snow isn’t reliable in this part of the country. In my entire scholastic career, first grade through retirement, I got only two days off because of snow.

This time, however, it’ll probably happen. It’s becoming more common.

The colder weather makes more blackouts almost certain. For me and mine, that’s not much of a problem. I do think about the people whose houses aren’t so warm as mine, especially babies and the elderly. Fortunately, the weekend is supposed to be warmer.

But–drum roll, please–for those anxious about the future, word has already been spread abroad: This Sunday’s Super Bowl in Dallas will not be affected by blackouts.

How timely.

Just at the moment of our greatest need, comes an announcement guaranteed to warm the cockles of our hearts.

I’m already feeling the burn.

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Related Video (Be sure to watch. It’s cute.)