Pictured to my left is the ancient Roman god, Janus, for whom the month January is named, because, as you can see, Janus looked both backward and forward. He was the "god of beginnings and ends, entrances and exits, change, transition, gateways, doorways, and arches" (per Google). Those Romans were good when it came to naming the months of the year. The Grandstander does a lot of looking forward and backward at this time of the year, so the next several posts will be looks both back and ahead as we have now close out 2025 and kick-start 2026.
Let's start with a popular Grandstander feature, and give one final salute to the Absent Friends of 2025. In all, I recognized 37 such Friends this past year, which brings to a total of 556 Absent Friends of whom I have written in this blog over the past 16 years. (Yes, 2026 will mark the seventeenth year of The Grandstander.) If you would like to read what I wrote of these Friends at the time they left us, just type their names into the search box that appears at the top of this page.
Jimmy Carter
Bob Uecker
John Lisak
Herb Soltman
Tony Roberts
Mike Lange
Clinton Hill
Gene Hackman
Craig Wolfley
Joh Feinstein
George Foreman
Zelda Fitzgerald Sproule (how we miss our furry friend)
Pope Francis
Ruth Buzzi
George Wendt
Charles Strouse
Loretta Swit
Brian Wilson
Frederick Forsyth
Martha Shanley
Chuck Spatafore
Dave Parker
Bobby Sherman
Connie Francis
Ozzy Osbourne
Hulk Hogan
Jum Lovell
Ron Turcotte
Joan Anderson
Robert Redford
Bob Oldis
Diane Keaton
John Cleary
Rob Reiner
Michele Reiner
Brigitte Bardot
Jimbo Ozaki
Rest in Peace, one and all.
As a bonus, please enjoy this bonus feature from one of these Absent Friends - "Seems Like Old Times", sung by Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall". A fitting way to remember all these folks (and one wonderful little doggie).
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