The key to the shenanigans surrounding the whole Punxsutawney Phil thing is that those involved don’t take themselves too seriously.
Apparently, the good folks at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) didn’t get the memo. This year, the group was suggesting that Phil be replaced with a robotic stand-in because it’s unfair to the groundhog to not only keep him in captivity but then to subject him to throngs of people and the bright lights that come with all of the media attention.
Huh?
Stinkin’ media and its bright lights. Crumb bums the whole lot of them. Why, no self-respecting gopher can even dig a tunnel and ruin a golf course (“Caddyshack” reference for those of you wondering) without the media sticking its nose in nowadays.
According to William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club — the Grand Groundhog Guy, or Triple-G, as it were — Phil is “treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.”
Phil’s crib is in a climate-controlled environment and the varmint doesn’t miss too many meals tipping the scales at 12 lbs., a bit heavier than the average groundhog that weighs in at 9 and one-half lbs.
Well . . . maybe it wasn’t a good idea that Triple-G used an analogy that suggested we treat our groundhogs better than we treat our children in Pennsylvania. That certainly opens the door for the PETA faithful burrow into Phil’s business.
Still, Deeley may have been right when he said that PETA doesn’t give a hang about Phil any other time of the year and was just looking for publicity around Groundhog’s Day.
Certainly PETA has better causes to pursue than poking at Phil with a stick. PETA needs to worry about being PETA. Or it will end up being a PITA.

Labels: Mike Morsch, Montgomery Newspapers, Outta Leftfield, PETA, Punxsutawney Phil