Making it out of January is its own reward. I can tell, even if I hadn’t done the math; daylight comes a little sooner and lasts a little longer. Depending on the latitude, the change from season to season may be subtle or profound but the plants know. That little shift in the in the angle of the sun’s arc is a kickstart for spring. Underground, roots are working overtime like NASCAR mechanics on the night before the big race. January is extremely necessary, then comes February, don’t sell it short. Mom always said, “Don’t wish your life away.”
Groundhog Day, today, it marks the beginning of winter’s 2nd lap, then comes March and a sprint to the finish. The movie with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell turned out to be a classic. Remembered for its slapstick humor, there is more to appreciate than just the laughter. Murray’s character, Phil Connors begins the story a rude, egotistical, self serving jerk. Throughout his string of 38 déjà vu wake-ups he grows weary of his wretched self. Then comes the evolution, introspection, change and his emergence as the selfless, considerate, lovable Phil Connors. He gets the girl, they go back to Pittsburg and all is well.
What escapes you is that all of the other characters only experienced one of Phil Connors recycled days, the last one. On the screen they show up for every do-over but that’s all from Phil’s experience. There is only one night where they bid the asshole good riddance and goodnight, then wake up to the charming, gracious, way-cool gentleman it took nearly two hours of movie to reengineer. What a shock. It would be like DonaldTrump morphing into Tom Hanks overnight. I think of Murray rushing, time after time, to catch the kid falling from the tree. Then he tries to save the homeless old dude but can’t. That was where Phil discovers his humanity. His transformation was profound but the moviemakers were there for the laughs and that was all I took away.
Thinking about Groundhog Day I couldn’t, not see the Covid connection. Every day seems so much like the day before. For at risk, old people it is wash, mask and distance, stay at home. All the way across the spectrum, pandemic is unescapable. Even those in ‘Hoax’ denial are compelled to defend their bias over and over, again and again; dead isn’t really dead. The movie’s plot leaps from one pratfall to the next but it turns out that dead really is dead and the protagonist couldn’t buy another day for the doomed old man.
Today is Ground Hog Day, 2021, the real one. I won’t wake up next time to Sonny & Cher (I Got You Babe) nor will I get yesterday’s news on the radio. It is a sunny day and according to legend we get another six weeks of winter but that’s alright. This is the month tree buds start growing. They won’t burst open with tiny leaves until April or May but they need February. It is their wakeup call and we all need that kind of good news. For us now it would be a safe, effective vaccine. Its roll out has been clumsy and troubled but nobody in this lifetime has been tasked with such an undertaking. Its development came sooner than expected but getting it into people’s arms has been a challenge. When it’s ready and available, so will I be.
Valentine’s Day will fly by and March will have its bluster but better days are on the way. Masks and better hygiene will be with us for a long time. After all, the nature of nature is change. I have no illusions about “Good Old Days”. They weren’t that good. We were young and that’s what felt good. So, rather than good old days I’m going to feel good about February. Without it, March never comes and spring is just a daydream.
Groundhog Day, today, it marks the beginning of winter’s 2nd lap, then comes March and a sprint to the finish. The movie with Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell turned out to be a classic. Remembered for its slapstick humor, there is more to appreciate than just the laughter. Murray’s character, Phil Connors begins the story a rude, egotistical, self serving jerk. Throughout his string of 38 déjà vu wake-ups he grows weary of his wretched self. Then comes the evolution, introspection, change and his emergence as the selfless, considerate, lovable Phil Connors. He gets the girl, they go back to Pittsburg and all is well.
What escapes you is that all of the other characters only experienced one of Phil Connors recycled days, the last one. On the screen they show up for every do-over but that’s all from Phil’s experience. There is only one night where they bid the asshole good riddance and goodnight, then wake up to the charming, gracious, way-cool gentleman it took nearly two hours of movie to reengineer. What a shock. It would be like DonaldTrump morphing into Tom Hanks overnight. I think of Murray rushing, time after time, to catch the kid falling from the tree. Then he tries to save the homeless old dude but can’t. That was where Phil discovers his humanity. His transformation was profound but the moviemakers were there for the laughs and that was all I took away.
Thinking about Groundhog Day I couldn’t, not see the Covid connection. Every day seems so much like the day before. For at risk, old people it is wash, mask and distance, stay at home. All the way across the spectrum, pandemic is unescapable. Even those in ‘Hoax’ denial are compelled to defend their bias over and over, again and again; dead isn’t really dead. The movie’s plot leaps from one pratfall to the next but it turns out that dead really is dead and the protagonist couldn’t buy another day for the doomed old man.
Today is Ground Hog Day, 2021, the real one. I won’t wake up next time to Sonny & Cher (I Got You Babe) nor will I get yesterday’s news on the radio. It is a sunny day and according to legend we get another six weeks of winter but that’s alright. This is the month tree buds start growing. They won’t burst open with tiny leaves until April or May but they need February. It is their wakeup call and we all need that kind of good news. For us now it would be a safe, effective vaccine. Its roll out has been clumsy and troubled but nobody in this lifetime has been tasked with such an undertaking. Its development came sooner than expected but getting it into people’s arms has been a challenge. When it’s ready and available, so will I be.
Valentine’s Day will fly by and March will have its bluster but better days are on the way. Masks and better hygiene will be with us for a long time. After all, the nature of nature is change. I have no illusions about “Good Old Days”. They weren’t that good. We were young and that’s what felt good. So, rather than good old days I’m going to feel good about February. Without it, March never comes and spring is just a daydream.
No comments:
Post a Comment