Groundhog Day Remembered

When I was a kid I couldn't remember which way the groundhog seeing his shadow went: six more weeks of winter if he did see his shadow or if he didn't? It took a long time for me to figure out that either way, we were going to have six more weeks of winter!

February 2nd brings two other memories for me, both from my days at Lariam Associates on 28th Street in Des Moines. I worked there as office manager of the recording studio plus I was still a member of PRSA from my days working in advertising and public relations. One thing you learn about Des Moines after living there awhile, you may think it is a city, but it's really just a larger version of a small town - especially in the field of media -- everyone knows everyone else. At least they did back then.

Someone, or a group of someones, in that field came up with the idea of celebrating Groundhog Day with a big party at Adventureland Inn. It was a fun evening. What I remember most about it was meeting Dic Youngs from KIOA. Of course I had listened to him for years - not sure if he was hosting his "Saturday Night Oldies" yet at that time and he probably wasn't referring to himself as "The Ole Youngster" as he did in later years. But he was still a 'Personality' and I was still impressed by meeting and talking to him.

Yes, Pooh Bear does have something to do with my other Groundhog Day memory - February 2, 1978. One of the writers at Love, Scott & Associates Advertising was a young guy by the name of Tim McGraw. (No, not THAT Tim McGraw!) Tim never went anywhere without his very own stuffed Winnie the Pooh Bear. The first time he came into the recording studio with that bear tucked inside his coat, I wondered about his level of maturity. But he acted like an adult. I decided that Pooh Bear was just a gimmick.

One day he came in without Winnie. While he was there he received a phone call from someone claiming he had Pooh and was demanding ransom. Such drama! That was the kind of stuff which made working there fun. (One of his co-workers had the bear which Tim eventually got back.)

Late in the afternoon of Groundhog Day, our sound man got the radio commercials for Love, Scott all ran off the duplicator ready to deliver. Their agency was on my way home from work, so I offered to drop them off. I called to let them know so someone would wait for me. Tim & Pooh were there. We talked for awhile then I said: "Want to go somewhere for a drink?" There was a little neighborhood bar in the same strip mall as their office. We went there.

One drink became several. We talked more than we ever had. There was a serious side to McGraw after all. By the time we left the bar and parted company, I was ready to know him even better. He, on the other hand, retreated to the safety of friendship, only.

A few months later I moved "back home" to SW Iowa. Tim & Pooh made the move to the Big Apple to try their luck. We wrote to one another a couple times a year for a while, then lost touch. Sometimes when Groundhog Day rolls around I am reminded of an old friend. I wonder if he still has his Winnie the Pooh. Or if Tim, like "The Ole Youngster" has departed this earth. (October 1, 2009)

"Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known." Winnie the Pooh

(Another significance of this day: It is exactly two months until sweet Alyssa's 21st birthday.)