Thursday was the NFL opening game of the Green Bay Packers vs. the New Orleans Saints. As the Superbowl champions, Green Bay hosted a massive kick-off party with a free concert. Maroon 5, Kid Rock and Lady Antebellum all performed outside the stadium for thousands of people. Blocks of Oneida street by the stadium were blocked off for days, the population of Green Bay was said to have nearly doubled for a day, and the entire city partied all day. Unfortunately, I was stuck taking diaper calls and missed the majority of the event, but caught the tail end of it before the game started. My dad told me the night before, "Just tell all your callers 'I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I'm in Wisconsin, the home of the Superbowl champions. So as much as I'd love to chat about your kid's ass, I have a Packer party to attend. So call me next week when I'm sober.'" I would have loved nothing more than to have actually said this, but keeping my job sounded just as appealing. Regardless, even though I didn't catch all of the concert, the atmosphere was amazing. There were so many Packer fans, all amped to start a new football season and all decked out in green and gold. The game between the last two superbowl champions was a great way to start off the season. There was hardly a dull moment in the game, and of course, the Packers won 42-34.
Saturday was the third anual Out of the Darkness walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention here in Brown County. The day was a great success, albeit very emotional. The walk has been organized each year by a couple of women who each lost their children around the age of 18. Each year, the event grows larger and larger and more and more families are reaching out to each other. The walk represented 17 different "teams," or people who walkers were representing. As more families come out each walk, new things are introduced to every event. Saturday's event got coffee and tea donations from Starbucks, water donated from Pepsi and plenty of raffle and door prizes. Another part of the event was introducing each team. One representative from each team introduced him/herself, their relation to the deceased, what year they died and how old they were when they passed. It was a terribly emotional few moments, though I'm sure helpful and therapeutic for the families. This year, 347 walkers raised $8,000. Half of the proceeds will be donated to our community and half will go to a national level. Next year, though, the organization is branching off from the AFSP to be able to donate all proceeds at our community level.
Also on Saturday, my friend Sam from Stritch made an impromptu visit to Green Bay. Being two hours away and everyone having very hectic work and personal life schedules, I don't get to see my college friends very often. The last time I had seen her was in April, so we were definitely due for a visit. We only spent two hours together, but we had such a great talk and it really made my already great day. We caught each other up on our lives, how our jobs were going, and the like. We gossiped and talked about writing, as if there's anything else to talk about. We were both part of the writing program at Stritch and magnetically attracted to each other the first week of school. Actually, I think we became friends right away during orientation week. Both of us expressed our frustration with the inability to get jobs in our fields and how badly we just wanted to write, but not knowing where to begin. What to write about, how to write without our instructor Dave, how to write without having our peers to bounce feedback off of in workshops. I shared with her that I had started this blog and started doing freewriting exercises very similar to what we did in our writing classes, and how badly I just want to proofread anything or everything. Proofreading in really what I have a passion for, even more so than writing or reading. I have a knack for it and the eye for detail. We agreed to send each other any pieces of writing that we're working on to have the other person look over it. Finally, I might be getting somewhere with my degree, even if it isn't a paid position.
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| A balloon release after the AFSP walk |
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