Groundhog Day…And I Don't Mean The Movie

NEWS FLASH—MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, PUNXSUTAWNEY, PENNSYLVANIA:  PHIL WILL EMERGE FROM HIS BURROW TO PREDICT WHEN WINTER WILL END.  NO SHADOW…NO MORE WINTER.  SEES HIS SHADOW…SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER!

By a strange coincidence those six more weeks of winter takes us almost to the Vernal Equinox which signals the official end of winter and the first day of spring.

Every year on February 2 a furry rodent of the groundhog variety named Punxsutawney Phil sticks his head out of his burrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to do his annual weather forecast.  In the United States and Canada, this is celebrated as Groundhog Day.  If Phil sees his shadow, it will frighten him and he'll return to his burrow.  If he doesn't see his shadow, he'll emerge and winter will soon be over.

At least, that's what the tradition claims.

The earliest American written reference to a groundhog day was 1841 in Pennsylvania's Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch) referring to it as the German celebration called Candlemas day where a groundhog seeing its shadow was a weather indication.  Superstition says that fair weather at that time was seen as a prediction of a stormy and cold second half to winter, as noted in this Old English saying:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Winter has another flight.

If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,

Winter will not come again.

Since the first official celebration of Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania in 1886, crowds as large as 40,000 people have gathered in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, for the annual celebration.  And in recent years it's been covered live on television.  Quite an accolade for the little ol' groundhog.  Since 1887, the groundhog has seen his shadow over 100 times [hmm…I wonder how many of those recent times were due to the television lights] predicting a longer winter and has not seen it only a few times to predict an early spring.  There is no record of his prediction for 9 years in the late 1800s.

The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck, is a member of the squirrel family.  The current Punxsutawney Phil weighs fifteen pounds and lives in a climate controlled home in the Punxsutawney library.  On Gobbler's Knob, Phil is placed in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump on a stage before being pulled out at 7:25AM to make his annual prediction. Quite removed from the concept of the groundhog waking from hibernation and emerging from his burrow in the wild.  :)

Over the decades, the groundhog has only about a 30% accuracy record. Today's meteorologists are far more accurate than that.

Those We Lost In 2025 part 2of2

Continuing from last week's part 1of2, here is the rest of the abbreviated list of those we lost in 2025.

Chuck Mangione

Born Nov. 29, 1940 | Died July 22, 2025

Jazz musician Chuck Mangione more than 30 albums over the course of his career. Playing the trumpet and the flugelhorn, Mangione won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition in 1977, and won another Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1979. His 1977 album Feels So Good hit No. 2 on the Billboard chart. In 2012, he was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall of Fame.

Ozzy Osbourne

Born Dec. 3, 1948 | Died July 22, 2025

Born John Michael Osbourne in 1948, Ozzy Osbourne formed a band in 1968 that became Black Sabbath. Their 1970 self-titled debut album reached the U.K. Top 10 and their next album, Paranoid, topped the U.K. charts. Osbourne later released a solo album in 1980, Blizzard of Oz. The Emmy winning reality TV show, The Osbournes, ran from 2002 to 2005 on MTV. Osbourne was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005, and that same year Black Sabbath was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He died on July 22 at the age of 76.

Bill Moyers

Born June 5, 1934 | Died June 26, 2025

In 1954, Bill Moyers worked as a summer intern for then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, later serving as President Johnson's press secretary from 1965-1967. After serving as publisher of Newsday from 1967-1970, Moyers went on to a storied career in TV journalism, working for both PBS and CBS News. He worked on such TV shows as Bill Moyers' Journal and Moyers & Company. Over the course of his career, Moyers won 11 Peabody Awards and over 30 Emmy Awards. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995. He died at the age of 91.

Brian Wilson

Born June 20, 1942 | Died June 11, 2025

Brian Wilson was one of the members of the seminal rock group The Beach Boys, which released their first single, Surfin', in 1961. They signed with Capitol Records in 1962 and went on to record such iconic hits as Surfin' Safari, Surfin' USA, and Good Vibrations. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the same year they released the #1 hit Kokomo. In 1990, Wilson's autobiography, Wouldn't It Be Nice, was released. Wilson received a Kennedy Center honor in 2007. In 2014, Love and Mercy, a movie about his life, premiered. He died at the age of 82.

Loretta Swit

Born Nov. 4, 1937 | Died May 30, 2025

Loretta Swit began her TV career in the early 1970s, appearing in such shows as Mannix and Hawaii Five-0. She is best known for playing Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan on the hit TV show MASH, which aired from 1972 to 1983. For that role, she won an Emmy Award in 1980 and another in 1982. Swit won a People's Choice Award in 1983 for favorite female TV performer. She made her Broadway debut in 1975 in Same Time Next Year. She also appeared on Broadway in The Mystery of Edwin Drood in 1986. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1989. She died at the age of 87.

George Wendt

Born Oct. 17, 1948 | Died May 20, 2025

George Wendt got his start in the 1970s in the famed Chicago improv group Second City. He's best known for his portrayal of Norm Peterson in all 11 seasons of the classic TV sitcom Cheers from 1982 to 1993, earning six Emmy nominations for the role. Wendt made his Broadway debut in 1998 in the comedy Art and went on to play Edna Turnblad on Broadway in the musical Hairspray in 2007-2008. He died at age 76.

Pope Francis

Born Dec. 17, 1936 | Died April 21, 2025

Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is well known for his devotion to the poor and his progressive views. Bergoglio joined the Society of Jesus in 1958. He was named the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was named a cardinal in 2001. In 2013 he was elected pope, becoming the first Jesuit pope in nearly 500 years.

Val Kilmer

Born Dec. 31, 1959 | Died April 1, 2025

Val Kilmer rose to fame in the 1980's, starring in such hit movies as Top Gun and Willow. In 2012, Kilmer was nominated for a Grammy Award for best spoken word album for The Mark of Zorro. A documentary about his life, titled Val, premiered in 2021. More recently, Kilmer appeared in the 2022 movie Top Gun: Maverick, reprising his role as Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky. Val Kilmer died at the age of 65.

George Foreman

Born Jan. 10, 1949 | Died March 21, 2025

George Foreman won an Olympic gold medal in boxing in 1968 at age 19. In 1973 he won his first world heavyweight championship. The 1974 bout in Zaire against Muhammad Ali, called the Rumble In The Jungle, is one of boxing's most famous matches. Foreman won his second heavyweight championship in 1994 when he was 45. He retired from boxing in 1997. Foreman also became an ordained preacher and, in 1994, he began selling his hugely successful George Foreman Grill. In 2003, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. George Foreman died at the age of 76.

Gene Hackman

Born Jan. 30, 1930 | Died Feb. 26, 2025

Gene Hackman is one of Hollywood's most acclaimed, prolific actors. He's won numerous awards including two Academy Awards and four Golden Globes. Hackman has played numerous characters, from an ex-spy to a beloved basketball coach to Lex Luthor. With each role, he brought his unique charisma to the screen and left lasting impressions with his audiences. He died at the age of 95.

Roberta Flack

Born Feb. 10, 1937 | Died Feb. 24, 2025

Legendary singer Roberta Flack, the piano prodigy with a soulful voice, heavily influenced R&B artists as well as other musicians. Flack was nominated for 14 Grammys, winning five, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Grammy for her hit song, Killing Me Softly with His Song. The song would again find popularity in the 90s when it was covered by The Fugees. She was the first artist to win a Grammy for record of the year two times in a row. In 2022, Flack was diagnosed with ALS, which caused her to lose her singing voice.

David Lynch

Born Jan. 20, 1946 | Died Jan. 15, 2025

David Lynch directed his film debut, Eraserhead, in 1977. He won the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990 for Wild At Heart, and won the Best Director Award at Cannes in 2001 for Mulholland Drive. In 2007, Lynch received the French Legion of Honor. Over the course of his more than six-decade long career, Lynch was nominated for four Academy Awards and received an Academy Award for lifetime achievement in 2019. He also received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his 1990s TV series Twin Peaks. He died at the age of 78.

Bob Uecker

Born Jan. 26, 1934 | Died Jan. 16, 2025

Bob Uecker made his MLB debut in 1962 with the Milwaukee Braves. In 1964, Uecker was playing for the St. Louis Cardinals when they won the World Series. He retired from baseball and started calling games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971, which he continued to do for 54 seasons. He also became an actor, appearing in the movie Major League, as well as the tv show Mr. Belvedere. Uecker was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003. He died at the age of 90.

Peter Yarrow

Born May 31, 1938 | Died Jan. 7, 2025

Peter Yarrow, along with Paul Stookey and Mary Travers, began performing as Peter, Paul and Mary in 1961, in New York. Their 1962 debut album topped the Billboard album charts. The 1964 single Puff the Magic Dragon, rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It also inspired three animated television films, as well as a 2007 book. The trio's biggest hit was their 1969 recording of Leaving on a Jet Plane. The single was Peter, Paul and Mary's only U.S. No. 1 hit, and their last top-40 song before they disbanded in 1970. Peter Yarrow died at the age of 86. 

Those We Lost In 2025 part 1of2

It seems to me that there was a larger than normal number of notable people who died in 2025. People Magazine puts the number at 294. This list is just a cross-section of personalities from various professions, chronological from most recent to earliest.

Tatiana Schlossberg

Born May 5, 1990 | Died December 30, 2025

Granddaughter of John F. Kennedy. An American environmental journalist and author, she was a Science and Climate reporter for the New York Times. She died of cancer at age 35.

Rob Reiner

Born March 6, 1947 | Died Dec. 14, 2025

Iconic Hollywood actor and director Rob Reiner followed his legendary father, Carl Reiner, into a television and film career and made a name of his own. Reiner started his career in television in small parts before landing the role of Michael 'Meathead' Stivic on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy wins and several other nominations. Reiner's directing debut came with This is... Spinal Tap. He soon followed with Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and A Few Good Men among many other hit movies. He was 78.

Frank Gehry

Born Feb. 28, 1929 | Died Dec. 5, 2025

Renowned architect Frank Gehry designed some of the most famous buildings in the world, including the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, the DZ Bank Building in Berlin, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Dancing House in Prague. He taught architecture at Yale, Columbia, and USC. Gehry was inducted into the California Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1990. He was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1989, the National Medal of Arts in 1998 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Frank Gehry died on Dec. 5, at the age of 96.

Dick Cheney

Born Jan. 30, 1941 | Died Nov. 3, 2025

Dick Cheney began his meteoric rise in politics in 1969, serving as a Senate intern and then working for Donald Rumsfeld, advisor to President Nixon. Cheney served on the transition team in 1975 when Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford became President. Cheney was President Ford's Chief of Staff. Cheney then served as the Wyoming Representative in Congress for six terms. President George H.W. Bush named him Secretary of Defense in 1989. In 2000 he was elected Vice President under President George W. Bush, and served two terms. Cheney died at his home following a battle with pneumonia. He was 84.

Nick Mangold

Born Jan. 13, 1984 | Died Oct. 25, 2025

Nick Mangold played football at Ohio State University from 2002 to 2005, becoming an All-Star, before being drafted by the New York Jets in 2006. He was the first center from Ohio State to be drafted in the NFL's first round. Mangold played 11 seasons with the Jets, from 2006 to 2016, playing in the Pro Bowl seven times. He was released by the team in 2017. He was inducted into the New York Jets Ring of Honor in 2022. He was also selected to go into the next round of voting for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mangold died on Oct. 25, at the age of 41.

Diane Keaton

Born Jan. 5, 1946 | Died Oct. 11, 2025

Diane Keaton made her stage debut in the Broadway musical Hair in 1968. The following year, she earned a Tony nomination for her performance in Play it Again, Sam. Her breakout role was in 1972 as Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather. Keaton won an Academy Award for best actress for 1977's Annie Hall. More recent movies of hers include Father of the Bride and First Wives Club. In 2004, she won a Golden Globe for the movie Something's Gotta Give. Keaton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 2017. She died at the age of 79.

Jane Goodall

Born April 3, 1934 | Died Oct. 1, 2025

Famed primatologist Jane Goodall dedicated her life to scientific research and advocating for environmental protections for the natural world. She began her career studying chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park and would spend over 60 years studying primate behavior. Goodall was awarded numerous accolades for her work including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died at age 91.

Robert Redford

Born Aug. 18, 1936 | Died Sept. 16, 2025

Robert Redford was an Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker, the founder of the Sundance Film Festival, and an environmental and political activist. His breakout role was in the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, followed by leads in The Sting, The Way We Were, All the President's Men, Out of Africa, and The Natural. As a director, he won multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Ordinary People and an honorary Academy Award in 2002. In 2016, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Redford died at his home at age 89.

Giorgio Armani

Born July 11, 1934 | Died Sept. 4, 2025

Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani is considered the forefather of red-carpet fashion with his ready-to-wear looks. His belief in cinema and fashion going hand-in-hand led to him designing and making the costumes for the film American Gigolo, in particular for Richard Gere's character, and leading to a long partnership with the film industry. He designed and made costumes for over 100 films. Starting his career at Cerruti 1881, he opened his own fashion house in 1975, and would later expand it into music, sports, luxury hotels and jewelry.

Graham Greene

Born June 22, 1952 | Died Sept. 1, 2025

Graham Greene was best known for his Oscar-nominated role as Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves. The trailblazing Indigenous actor began his career with the 1979 Canadian drama series The Great Detective and 1983 film Running Brave. Greene also starred as Arlen Bitterbuck in the 1999 Tom Hanks film, The Green Mile. He died at the age of 73.

Jim Lovell

Born March 25, 1928 | Died Aug. 7, 2025

NASA's Captain Jim Lovell was selected to be an astronaut in 1962. Lovell flew on the Gemini 7 mission in 1965, and the Gemini 12 mission in 1966. On the Apollo 8 mission, Lovell served as command module pilot and navigator, and he served as the spacecraft commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in 1970. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Lovell as a consultant for physical fitness and sports, and President Richard Nixon assigned him the role of chairman of the Physical Fitness Council. President Bill Clinton awarded Lovell with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1995.

Loni Anderson

Born Aug. 5, 1945 | Died Aug. 3, 2025

Loni Anderson was best known for playing Jennifer Marlowe in the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati, which ran from 1978 to 1982. She received three Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy Award nominations for that role. She had roles on Easy Street, which ran from 1986-1987, and Nurses, which ran from 1991-1994. She also appeared in the movies Stroker Ace, All Dogs Go To Heaven and A Night At The Roxbury. She died at the age of 79.

Hulk Hogan

Born Aug. 11, 1953 | Died July 24, 2025

Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, was one of the most popular pro wrestlers of all time. He began his professional wrestling career in 1977. A multiple world heavyweight champion, Hogan helped popularize the sport and WWE. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 as an individual performer and again in 2020 as a member of the NWO. He appeared on TV shows such as Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He also appeared in the movies Rocky III and Mr. Nanny. He died at the age of 71.

Check back next week for a look at part 2 of 2 of this cross-section abbreviated list of those we lost in 2025.

History of New Year's Celebrations

Welcome to 2026.  This has become a traditional time of celebration.  We party on New Year's Eve and celebrate the moment the clock strikes midnight signaling the beginning of a new year.

And, of course, when the year 2000 arrived we celebrated for twenty-four hours as each time zone around the world welcomed the new millennium on live television broadcasts.

But why and how did the New Year's celebrations become part of our annual routine?  The earliest recorded account of a celebration in honor of the new year dates back four thousand years to ancient Babylon.  For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal (spring) equinox announced the arrival of the new year.  They celebrated this spring time event with a massive eleven day religious festival called Akitu.  It was during this time that a new king was crowned or the current ruler's mandate renewed.

Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed more sophisticated calendars with the first day of the year associated with an agricultural or astronomical event.  For example, in Egypt the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius.  In China, the new year occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice…a day they still celebrate.

The early Roman calendar had 10 months and 304 days with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox.  Tradition holds that it was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C.  Numa Pompilius, a later king, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius.  Over the ensuing centuries, the Roman calendar grew out of sync with the sun.  In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar used today by most countries.

As part of his reform, Julius Caesar declared January 1 as the first day of the year and Romans celebrated by exchanging gifts, decorating their homes, and attending raucous parties.  In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1 as the first day of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25 as the anniversary of Christ's birth and March 25 as the Feast of the Annunciation.  It was Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 who re-established January 1 as New Year's Day.

In many countries, New Year's celebrations begin on New Year's Eve and continue into the early hours of January 1^st.  These celebrations often include specific foods that are said to bring good luck for the coming year—grapes in Spain, round fruits in the Philippines, suckling pig in Austria, soba noodles in Japan, rice pudding in Norway, and black-eyed peas in the southern United States.  Other customs that are common worldwide include making new year resolutions (a practice started by the Babylonians) and watching fireworks displays.

In the United States, the most famous New Year's tradition is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City's Times Square.  This event, first instituted in 1906, occurs at the stroke of midnight.  The original giant ball was made of iron and wood weighing 400 pounds.  A total of 7 versions of the Ball have been designed over the more than a century since the first drop of the ball occurred.

Today's giant ball is a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing nearly 12,000 pounds.  Each year, the 2688 intricate Waterford crystals that make up the skin of the huge orb are replaced with new ones.  192 Waterford Crystal triangles are the Gift of Goodwill design of three pineapples signifying the traditional image of hospitality and goodwill. 192 are the Gift of Harmony design of small rosette cuts flowing into each other in beautiful harmony. 192 are the Gift of Serenity design of butterflies flying peacefully above a crystal meadow capturing the spirit of serenity. 192 are the Gift of Kindness design consisting of a circle of rosettes symbolizing unity with the fronds reaching out in an expression of kindness. 192 are the Gift of Wonder design composed by a faceted starburst inspiring our sense of wonder. 192 are the Gift of Fortitude design of diamond cuts on either side of a crystal pillar to represent the finer attributes of resolve, courage, and spirit necessary to triumph over adversity. The remaining triangles are the Gift of Imagination design with a series of intricate wedge cuts that are mirrored reflections of each other inspiring our imagination.

The 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles are bolted to 672 LED modules which are attached to the aluminum frame of the ball.  The ball is capable of displaying a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns that create a spectacular kaleidoscope effect as the ball drops down a flagpole at the stroke of midnight Eastern Standard Time.

So, however you celebrated this year's arrival of the new year…I wish everyone a safe, healthy,  and happy 2026.