Odd family members

[Chris James]

We all have someone in the family who is a little...um, batty is perhaps the polite term. It might be a relative past or present, like the aunt who bakes you sugar cookies when she ought to remember that you're a fledgling diabetic. Or perhaps it was an uncle who drove home from the market and parked the car in the garage...someone else's garage. Or even the cousin with thirty magazine subscriptions she doesn't read.

It wouldn't come as a surprise to my family that I think my cousin John is missing a few marbles because I don't think he ever owned any. Lest that seem to indicate he is not intelligent I have to say he does have two PhD's and speaks five foreign languages. I think the marbles comment relates to his common sense.

He lives in sunny southern California these days, but he grew up in Miami. He seems to like warmer climates and visits Europe and the Holy Land in the summer every year. He has a compulsive personality and enjoys organizing his life down to the smallest detail, and then tells everyone in the family about it.

But other than travel his greatest passion is football and one team, the Green Bay Packers. I don't know why John chose them, he's never lived up north, but he has been a fan for over forty years. I should have known what he was doing when my phone rang yesterday afternoon.

"Guess where I am," John said. No hello, he doesn't work like that, just straight to the point. "I'm in Green Bay."

"You are out of your mind," I replied.

And then he was off and chattering about how he had made the trip, how much warm clothing he had with him and how excited he was going to be when that game started.

"You'll be a popsicle," I said during his running commentary.

"I've been here in cold weather before..." And he has, but not minus six degrees forecast for the kickoff.

If John freezes to death in Green Bay at least he will go with a smile on his face and I suppose that is all we can ask of life. He's still my favorite cousin.

[Lugnutz]

It was -6 here last week. Not a big deal. You just freeze faster.

There is nobody outstandily odd in my family. We're all equally odd. Of course we have an idiot into cars...

[Cole Parker]

The odd ones almost always tend to be our favorites. They're the ones with personalities.

C

[EleCivil]

We all have someone in the family who is a little...um, batty is perhaps the polite term.

I'm pretty sure my family considers me the crazy one. I say they're all nuts, and I'm the only half-sane one, but to be honest, that "half" is pushing it. They're...probably right.

[colinian]

I watched the SF 49ers - Green Bay Packers game today. Like the college games yesterday, it was close and exciting. What they said is that it didn't get as cold as they expected. The temp at the start of the game was +8F. For Green Bay in the winter that's probably on the slightly balmy side.

I was a very happy camper because the 49ers won with two seconds on the clock when they kicked the winning field goal.

Colin

[Cole Parker]

The winning field goal, with three seconds left in the game, was kicked by Phil Dawson. He's publicly stated kicking a football in subzero temperatures is much like trying to kick a bag of cement. He's probably the oldest kicker in the league now. He played his whole career in Cleveland, which is famous for its treacherous, swirling winds in the football stadium, yet he has one of the highest made attempts records in NFL history. He became a free agent this year, and the new owners and staff in Cleveland just dumped him rather than pay him for his services. He signed on with SF and will finally has a chance to play for a winning team and perhaps be recognized for the player he is.

He's a great guy, too, and was loved in Cleveland. I was happy to see him calmly boot the winner yesterday. Sent that bag of cement right through the uprights.

C