What today, the weather and ‘I’ve Got you babe’ have in common…
02 Feb 2020
Dear LPG,
I wonder if the song ‘I’ve got you babe’ by Sunny and Share, or the state of the weather in Pennsylvania USA has more of a special meaning for you today?
I wrote this message quite some time ago but wanted to have it posted today. Why today; today is the day that I celebrate one of my all-time favourite films although that is incidental to the celebration that is likely to cross the minds of most Pennsylvanians today. We English have similar rituals that we observe but I am sure that this one was pretty small until it was brought to the attention of the rest of the world in May 1993 due to a film which was released and which had the same name.
According to the internet February 2nd 2020 will be the 133rd time that the people of that American state officially observe this ritual although there is mention of its existence as early as 1840. It will come as no surprise that this custom revolves around a groundhog, although the notion that it is skilled enough to be able to predict the weather is an eye-opener. Apparently today marks the midpoint between winter and spring and if the groundhog in question sees a shadow (indicating a sunny day) that region of the world will suffer another six weeks of winter and if not spring is on the way.
But I have to say that my memory is of the endearing film comedy which uses Groundhog day as a backdrop but offers another really important message. It features Bill Murray as a television ‘Scrooge-like’ weatherman who goes to report the findings of the day and who gets stuck repeating the events of that day for a long time. He tries everything to break the cycle including staging a traffic accident designed to kill himself but wakes up the next morning to the sound of ‘I’ve got you babe’ by Sunny and Share. During the course of the film reliving the same day has a similar effect to that of the three ghosts on Mr Scrooge in the Christmas carol and he escapes when his outlook on life improves.
I think that retirement takes many through a sort of Groundhog day experience although some don’t learn from it. Every day can seem the same which, depending on the circumstances that we find ourselves in, can be really depressing. Perhaps, as the film suggests, we should take each day and build on it in the same way that Phil Connors, the Weatherman manages to in the film.
It is supposed to make you laugh but there is an underlying lesson to be learned and so I urge anyone who feels that they are a little time-trapped to watch the film again, or for the first time, and learn from it.
KB, Beckenham
KB found some related information.
…and. In spite of the difficulty associated with being able to view films online for free these days, though a little disjointed, this version was available at the time of writing…
