To Absent Friends - John Thompson

 John Thompson

1941-2020

When I heard the news this morning that John Thompson, Hall of Fame Basketball Coach at Georgetown University, died yesterday, three days short of his 79th birthday. It was not my intention to do an Absent Friends post on him.  I mean, he wasn't a local guy, and he's been retired for quite awhile, and while I realize who he was and what he accomplished, he just didn't move the needle for me.  

Then I listened to today's Tony Kornheiser Show Podcast.  The first two segments of the show featured Kornheiser's opening monologue reminiscing about Thompson, and the second segment with Michael Wilbon, offered more of the same.   Both guys covered Georgetown during those glory days, and their stories were terrific.  If you are a college basketball fan, and especially if you are one of those folks who consistently long for the halcyon days of the Big East, I urge you to listen to today's, August 31, 2020, episode of the podcast and listen to the first two segments.  They cover about 30 minutes.  Nothing I could write could possibly be  a better tribute to  "Big John."

RIP John Thompson.

The Absent Friends of 2014

It is time to take a final look back at all those Absent Friends who were noted in this space in  this year that is rapidly drawing to a close. As I always do, I give credit to the late, great sportswriter Red Smith who would use the term "Absent Friend" whenever he wrote of the passing of someone in the sports world.

Before doing so, I want to comment on the passing in January of this year of my younger sister Patty.  She was the youngest of my parents' five children, and the first of us to die.  She was the closest to me in age of my four siblings, and, as such, we pretty much grew up together.  As life went on, relationships change, and family relationships can sometimes be complicated, and the one between my sister and I had its share of ups and downs.  While sitting in Church on Christmas Eve, I found myself thinking of Patty, and thinking of those ups-and-downs, and finding it still somewhat hard to believe that she is gone.  The Grief Journey that we take when we lose someone never ends, and no two are alike.  You have to decide what to hold on to and what to let go of, and sometimes it can be very difficult to do either one.  

Thanks for listening.

Now for a list of those 41 Absent Friends who were important historically, socially, culturally, or who I just found to be interesting people with interesting life stories.

Phil Everly
Russell Johnson
Dave Madden
Tom Gola
Maximilian Schell
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Ralph Kiner
Shirley Temple
Sid Caesar
Ralph Waite
Cannoball Butler
Harold Ramis
Porky Chedwick
Dr. Frank Jobe
Glennn McDuffie
David Brenner
Charley Feeney
Ralph Wilson
Mickey Rooney
Bill Nunn, Jr.
Bunny Yeager
Chuck Noll
Tony Gwynn
Gerry Goffin
Jeb Stuart Magruder
Howard Baker
Johnnie Waters
Jim Brosnan
Louis Zamperini
Red Klotz
James Garner
Robin Williams
Lauren Bacall
Sophie Masloff
Anna Mae Gorman Lindberg
Sally Kalson
Bob Kasperik
Ben Bradlee
Mike Nichols
Joe Cocker
Joseph Sargent

RIP to all Absent Friends.