Sunday January 9th, 2011 - Wauconda, IL/Kenosha, WI I’m not sure how today could have gone much better. Of course it all begins and ends in three magic words - Green Bay Packers. My hopeless addiction to the green and gold was given a major fix today with a sweet win over the Philadelphia Eagles in a playoff game. I’m on a good high, and when it’s like this nothing is better. I don’t want to think about the dark side, because there definitely is one when they lose. I know none of this is going to get me anywhere, but I can’t help it. I’m in heaven when the Packers win, and they did. My intention was to not even watch the game. I’m in a very good mindset right now, and having three hours of uncut stress is the last thing I need. Watching games this big have a way of tying stomachs in a knot, and I didn’t want that today. I arranged a visit with Bert Haas from Zanies and his wife Sally and their daughter Christine. I’d hear the score later. Bert and Sally have always been great friends. They’ve invited me into their home like a family member countless times for holiday meals and special events. I’ve known all of their kids since birth, and they’re all wonderful. Christine is now in college and I feel old. Bert has been inviting me over for dinner for a while, and today was the day. He asked if I wanted to watch the game, but I told him no. It was too much pressure to watch it and have a puckered brown eye on his couch. I’d much rather catch up and visit with all three of them, and that’s what we did. It was low pressure and we had a lot of laughs. I loved it. We decided to go to a restaurant for dinner, and ended up at a place they knew of in their new city of Wauconda, IL. It was a very nice place, even though I can’t think of the name right now. We drove over and got seated - right next to a big screen TV with the game on. I tried to enjoy dinner, but it was like Keith Richards being asked to hold a bag of drugs and not sampling any. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the TV and it was torture as the Eagles started to catch up. Our waitress was a Packer fan, but everyone else was a Bears fan and saw my flaming yellow Packer jacket and knew I was the enemy. It was a tense situation. They started cheering for the Eagles and the waitress and I cheered for our Packers. Our meal was absolutely delicious, and we did get some time to visit even though I got lost in the game for a while. I’m a Packerholic and I freely admit it. I’m totally hooked for life. On the way from the restaurant to the WLIP radio studio in Kenosha, I almost drove off the road listening to the end of the game. It was extremely tense, and the Eagles could’ve easily won the game in the last second and ruined my evening, week, month and century. But alas, Tramon Williams intercepted Michael Vick’s pass and that was all she wrote. I let out a war whoop in my car, and I knew it was going to be a splendiferous evening no matter the outcome of the radio show. When the Packers win, all is right with the world. When they don’t, life is not worth living. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it’s sadly true. The possibility does exist right now that the Packers and despised scum sucking maggot infested Chicago Bears could actually meet for a chance to play in the Super Bowl. That’s a delicate situation, especially since I live in Illinois and have a ton of Bears fan friends. These kinds of things can get very personal, and I don’t want to set off a powder keg. IF it should happen, I’ll keep it to myself. I’ll drive up to Wisconsin and hang out with all of my Packer fan friends, and enjoy the moment. That’s one game I would watch, as it won’t in all likelihood ever happen again. It would be like one of those rare full solar eclipses. I wonder where Brett Favre is in all of this. He turned out to be the bad guy, and he isn’t even on a Packer fan’s radar right now. Aaron Rodgers is the man, and he played a really good game today, as did the rest of the team. It was good to see them getting it together. Whatever the NFL has, it’s addictive. Sports in general is a drug, especially when a team one cheers for is anywhere near a championship, but football is the most intense - at least it is for me. Me and millions of Packer fans all over the world. It’s exciting right now. I still feel like I got cheated out of the last big run in the ‘90s because of my bank robber nightmare. I was being flown back to Milwaukee from Reno by the government to testify in court against my life long best friend, and the Packers seemed so far away at the time. When I got off the plane, I remember seeing green and gold everywhere. I’d dreamed for a time like that since I was a kid, and when I got it I couldn’t even enjoy it. I’m still upset about it, but there’s not much I can do now. If they go to the Super Bowl this year, I have to consider going to see it live. I missed the last one, and I may not get another chance. I’ll worry about that later. They have two more games to win before that happens. I like the way my life is going now, and throwing all that stress in the mix doesn’t interest me at all. I’d rather focus on all the good things that are happening. That’s where my future is. Tonight it was back to WLIP in Kenosha, WI for a ride on The Mothership Connection radio show. We had some great guests tonight including Richard Crowe, a famous guy in Chicago who runs haunted tours. He’s been on the phone before, but it was fun to get him in the studio live. The show is very fun, and I was glad to be able to come back and do it. My co-hosts Shelley Maas Hernandez and Greg DeGuire have been dong an outstanding job in my absence, and we’d be off the air if it weren’t for everyone kicking it up a notch. Diane Ebert and Gary Pansch have been great, as has Scott Markus and everyone else on the show. They have a fun time doing it when I’m gone, and it’s all worked out perfectly. Personally, I don’t really have to do it anymore. It’s fun to hang out, but to put in effort to prepare takes time and energy, and I’ve got other stuff going on. Shelley and Greg are the main people in charge, and they’re doing great. I’m thrilled the show could continue. If I hadn’t showed up tonight, they would have been fine without me and that’s great in my book. I helped it get started, and it’s stll alive. Like the Packers, that makes me proud.
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