re: Groundhog

Another six weeks of this weather and I'll be crispy brown!

When I was about twenty I started closely following Groundhog's Day. No, I never was living in an area that had to worry much about winter, but that's when I became truly aware of the phenomenon. My first reaction was disappointment, since I'd never seen any groundhog and had little chance of ever being near wherever he was pulled out, but I soon realized the groundhog wasn't the important part.

The shadow is, and we have perfectly fine shadows in Los Angeles, ones more suited for our local forecast. I'm not sure how far Phil's predictions go, but it's a long way from where he is to where I am, so I began checking for *my* shadow on the same day he sought his.

That lasted all of two years, then I realized any shadow would do and just looked out the window. If there were distinct shadows, there'd be more winter. If, on the other hand, the lighting was perfect for taking pictures, diffuse and even, then I could expect an early spring.

It turns out Phil sees his shadow about two-thirds of the time, so it's not all that chancy.

The other good thing about Groundhog Day is it gives me a chance to brag. Perhaps my greatest, most lasting, and serious brush with greatness has to do with that movie. For a few years I was quite good friends with the guy who was the Production Designer for that movie (which gives me one degree of separation from Bill Murray!). I've run across a few people in the business, but none that I knew as well as I did David, and none who had their name on the screen before the movie.

He also did the PD for Taxi Driver and some others. After GD, he moved to New Mexico and we no longer have anything to do with each other, but for awhile, I was close. He had a great loft in downtown LA, filled with art supplies and scripts. Very Hollywood.

Anyway, today was so hot I drank over a quart of water and rarely urinated. It was *that* hot.