Happy Groundhog's Day for those of you who celebrate

Punxsutawney Phil has predicted six more weeks of winter. Woodstock Willie, on the other hand, is predicting an early spring. The on-and-off snow flurries outside my window this afternoon suggest Willie may be overly optimistic.

Everyone knows today is Groundhog's Day. Not as many will also know that today is Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, and the absolute, final end of the Christmas Season.

After today, if your Christmas decorations are still up, you will have earned the stink eye you get from your neighbors and/or the HOA.

On the other hand, it's not quite the end of the Holiday Season. After all, the Super Bowl isn't until Sunday... and we still have Lincoln's Birthday, Presidents' Day, and Casimir Pulaski Day to look forward to.

I don't pretend to know which rudely awakened rodent is the better prognosticator. But I can, and do, predict -- with absolute certitude and overwhelming sadness -- that those of us who live in Illinois must endure six more weeks of political commercials. The primary -- and also the Feast of St. Patrick -- is six weeks from tomorrow. Not even the promise of Casimir Pulaski Day can make six more weeks of political commercials tolerable....