Tomorrow is Groundhog Day.  The annual ritual of letting a furry rodent determine if Spring is coming sooner or later than expected.  Don’t know what critter’s record is, but I have a better method of determing the end of winter.

     Tomorrow in Tampa, Florida is also Christine Day.  This where we blindfold my mother, put her in a dark closet next to a large picture window.  After keeping in there, light deprived for approximately 5 to 10 minutes, we then walk her out of the closet, spin her around a couple of times, and then remove the blindfold.  Disoriented and somewhat angry at being put in a closet against her will, we then scream- “Do you see your shadow?  Do you SEE your shadow?”  My mother- now somewhat afraid- will bark out an answer of “yes” or “no” whereupon we call her sister, Angie in Ohio with the results.  She then contacts the rest of the family members with the news of either an early spring or a much longer winter.  Then we calm my mother down by “promising” that this will be the last year for the ritual, and steady her frayed nerves with a shot of whiskey.  Then we have waffles.  But hey- if you wanna stick with the groundhog for your predictions- suit yourself.