GIRARDEAU GEORGE PUTS CAREER IN PERSPECTIVE

Girardeau George is a groundhog in transition.

Embittered by a lack of public attention for his annual forecasts, George, in an exclusive interview, said, "I had reached a very dark place in my life."

This morning, George will be up bright and early to look for his shadow and predict whether or not spring is on its way.

If George sees his shadow, folklore says, we can expect another six weeks of winter. If no shadow is visible, spring is just around the corner.

George returned to the forecasting business last year after a long sabbatical, but now says he wasn't quite ready to get back in the spotlight.

"I'm still not sure I'm ready for this," he said Thursday.

"There's so much pressure in this business. You identify so much with this public persona you create -- rock star, screen idol, weather forecaster -- and you just can't see past it. Then you get up there and do your stuff, and nobody cares. Some new kid comes along, and the public doesn't even remember your name anymore."

George admits now to being deeply envious of his better-known cousin -- and rival -- Punxsutawney Phil.

The Pennsylvania groundhog regularly wins network coverage for his predictions, and that hurts a little, George says, adding Phil's Washington connections can't hurt his standing as a media darling.

"He's in the Congressional Record every year," George said. "Don't tell me that's not worth some Nielsen points."

He also points out that predicting the weather doesn't garner a great deal of respect, noting that the St. Louis Zoo will be counting on a pot-bellied pig named Bacon for their Groundhog Day event.

Bacon replaces Whistler, a groundhog who died last spring of natural causes.

"Whatever happened to tradition?" George asked. "I'd suggest organizing, but in this economy, a union wouldn't be too feasible."

Although he has no plans to give up his forecasts, George says he's trying to put it into perspective.

"Shadow, no shadow, winter, spring, who cares?" he said. "A few more weeks of hibernation never hurt anybody. You can drive yourself crazy with it. Pretty soon you start seeing shadows everywhere. There's got to be more to life."

He says he's looking for other outlets for his creativity.

"Maybe I'll take a couple of classes, learn to paint," he said.

George says he's thinking about writing a book based on his experiences.

He credits his mate, Glynnis, with his new outlook on life.

"She's wonderful," he said. "She's really very grounded. I just kept digging myself in deeper and deeper, but Glynnie really helped me see that life is too short to worry about this stuff."

Dr. Alfred Robertson, a climatologist at Southeast Missouri State University, said it will probably be too cloudy today for anybody to see their shadow, adding he expected the cloud cover to stretch all the way to Punxsutawney.

"I don't think Pocahontas-whatever his name is out there in Pennsylvania will be able to see a shadow either," Robertson said.