Green & Gold

Packer Memory

Talk about history. Sunday's game for the NFC title and a trip to the Super Bowl will be the first time the Packers and Bears have met in a playoff game since 1941--a week after Pearl Harbor Day.

The game has tweaked my memory for a bit of my Packer history.

As a sports reporter for a newspaper in Wausau, WI in the early 60s--five years before the Super Bowl existed--I decided, spur-of-the-moment, to visit the Packers training camp in Green Bay. It was August, 1961, and I drove over, accompanied by my wife and 9-month-old son.

After the morning practice, I caught up with Coach Vince Lombardi as he headed toward the locker room, figuring it was my chance for a quick interview...maybe a few good quotes. With pen and notebook in hand, I fired my opener: "Coach, how's practice going?"

I'll never forget that moment. He turned--didn't so much look at me, as through me--and said "Slow". Then he mumbled something like "Wait here." It suddenly occurred to me that maybe you don't drive 100 miles, unannounced, to an NFL team's summer practice and expect to get an impromptu interview with the coach.

After an uncomfortable wait, the Packers PR guy found me, answered a few questions and suggested that next time I'd be smart to let them know my plans in advance.

My story was heavy on the atmosphere surrounding practice.

And very light on the coach's comments.

ZZZZZZZZZZ....

It was tough enough to watch the GOP's takeover of the Wisconsin statehouse as well as the U.S. House of Representatives (and gain strength in a Democratically-diminished Senate).

Now I learn that--OMG--Justin Bieber sometimes suffers from insomnia.

I understand that Justin, 16, is roughly the current teenagers' equivalent to Frank Sinatra back in the 40's...that's the 1940's. However, I wouldn't recognize him if he walked into my B&B.

He told Vanity Fair his mind races at night, because he begins to "think about all the things I didn't have time to think about during the day." OK, credit him for including family and God in those thoughts.

It may surprise him to learn that he's among millions whose mind works overtime when head hits pillow. Like me, on occasion, if you can't clear your mind to create a sound sleep, you may join Justin in the world of insomnia. We just won't tell our story to a trendy magazine.

Life is busy, complicated and full of challenges and choices. Thinking doesn't neatly stop at bedtime.

Man up, Justin.

A Decade Ends

A Decade Ends

In the context of the past 10 years, Dec. 31, 2010 was a very calm day...one that turned out much calmer than I expected.

Mid-morning I connected with a Madison friend who had called several days earlier to offer congratulations on my upcoming marriage. Then, a call from Bayfield friends who invited my fiancee, Chana, and me to their home to celebrate the New Year. The party's at 8...OK, I'll buy some champagne, wine and herring to go with the hosts' nibbles. Late afternoon...another call to long-time Madison friends to catch up on family happenings.

Meanwhile, the weather was getting dicey. A three-day combination of snow, rain, sleet, then cold was creating driving havoc. Chana said the roads in Washburn were sheets of ice...she was reluctant to drive the 9 miles to Bayfield for the party. Around 7:15 she said "I'm not driving." I called the hostess and cancelled.

So...a solo New Year's Eve. I had thawed a salmon for possible consumption on New Year's Day. It was tasty, accompanied by vodka and a call from son Joel in CA for the Rose Bowl. I worked through a few Sudokus (a major achievement--I finally figured out the process). I read Time's Person of the Year issue, which took 23 pages to confirm why I choose not to be part of the world of Facebook. I called Chana and wished her a Happy New Year. A couple yawns, and it was an early-to-sleep New Year's Eve.

January 1, 2011...clear head...9 a.m. greetings from Chana...temperature zero...snow to shovel...ice to chop.

Have a good year. Leave a comment.