Jerrie Whiteley

For those who are not up on their groundhog tradition, that means six more weeks of winter.

Phil might be right, but there are people here at the Herald Democrat who think maybe Phil would have a better chance of missing his shadow if it weren't for the hundreds of photographers aiming their equipment at him.

I watched it on television and I could see the shadow of several of the officials before they even pulled darling Phil out of his log.

Some of you might now being wondering exactly what is a groundhog. A quick search of Encyclopedia.com shows that a groundhog is a large rodent found in the open woods and ravines throughout the Northeastern sections of the country.

None of the articles I found mention these fury little creatures having any specific talent for predicting the weather, but dear old Phil has certainly talked the world into believing he has the goods.

I don't know about any of you, but I don't know how much more of this cold drizzly weather I can take.

Happy birthday Friday to Cheryl Salisbury, Paula Rivoire, Gladys Walford and Cecil Mask, all of Sherman; Ola Faye DeHorney, Joyce Sikes, Mindy Johnson, Gavin James Rucker, Wanda Edwards, Kerwin Jones and Trélon Lyday, all of Denison; Nathaniel Montgomery and Melvin Miller, both of Luella, John Edward Pippard II of Allen; Bob Garvin of Whitesboro; Misty Grace of Kemp, Okla.; Jeremy Lowery of Tom Bean; Norma Jean White of Howe; Jacob White of Pottsboro; Stormie Caplinger of Gober; Joshua Mayberry of Bloomfield, Ind.; Drew Hodge of Tom Bean; Kailey Pugh of Bells.

Happy anniversary Friday to James and Betty Gary of Pottsboro, 37 years.

Happy birthday Saturday to Michelle Johnson, Jimmy J.R. Reynolds, Lea Jean Flaherty, Sandra Killough Smith and Bennie Imogene Carroll, all of Denison; Jim Alton Ingle, Edward Barrick Smith, Melida Ailshire and Eddie Smith, all of Sherman; Jamee Hall of Jacksonville, Fla.; Thomas Virgil Allison of San Diego, Calif.; James Edward Fuller of Richardson; Bertha Stanley White of Amarillo; Grayce Hubbard of Allen; Jana Kniss of Whitesboro.

Happy anniversary Saturday to Dean and Judy McDonough of Howe, 40 years.