The Things We Do For Family

 

The Things We Do For Family

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for December 17, 2023

On Sunday night, Miss Sheri and I went to see Pete Davidson and some of his buddies do comedy at Mystic Lake Casino.  I always liked Pete from SNL and I really enjoyed the King of Staten Island.  The comedy was fine, but honestly I felt like I usually do after I've watched an episode of Saturday Night Live over the past several years.  I think the word is Meh.

On Monday night, the kids joined Miss Sheri and I as we celebrated Grandma Linda's birthday at Buca di Beppo in Eden Prairie.  Family style Italian cuisine and a feisty Grandma Linda in a mood to party always make for an exciting way to spend a Monday night!  

Happy Birthday, Mom!

On Friday night we traveled into No Man's Land.  Otherwise known as Wisconsin.  Home of many of our most hated sports teams and also pretty good cheese related food products.  We weren't quite sure what the trip had in store for us, but we were braced for fun.

Our first stop was to Radisson, Wisconsin which is the home town of our buddy Dan Walters and his extended family.  The occasion was a sad one as they were there for the celebration of life for Dan's mom, Martha.  May she rest in peace.  Although we were there to pay our respects, we also had the time to meet some of Dan's family we hadn't met before and visit with others we had.  It was a bunch of fun.

I must admit the Tree and Lights were beautiful, but I couldn't stop thinking that it was probably going to be a pretty dark Christmas for the families of those deer.  I hope none were related to Rudolph.

We spent the night at a beautiful cabin on the Chippewa Flowage.  We had a fun time staying up late and sharing stories with one another.  These cats are pretty crazy.

The next morning we had to get up early to continue our voyage deep into the state of Wisconsin.  We found ourselves in the woods in the middle of nowhere which was a bit disturbing until this nice fellow flew over our car and landed in a tree on the side of the road.  He let us take some pictures of him and then we figured he'd guide us for the rest of our trip which was a peaceful feeling.  He ended up flying away shortly after this photo.  Thank God for Google Maps!

The original reason for our trip was to go to Green Bay to meet up with my sister.  We were so thrilled to go to the home town of the mortal enemy of our beloved Minnesota Vikings.

Apparently my brother in law, Dave, was born in Wisconsin and is a lifelong Packers fan.  They flew up from Dallas to attend the Packers Buccaneers game and since it was only a 4.5 hour drive for us, my sister Tracy insisted we come hang out with them for a night.  We begrudgingly obliged.

Luke said the only way he was going to Lambeau Field would be dressed in his favorite Vikings gear.  I must admit most people were pretty polite to us although he did have a few hecklers throughout the night.  It was a bit weird for us when we watched the Vikings game at a bar in the shadow of the stadium especially when they lost the game at the last minute and everybody but us were cheering!

As part of the rivalry between Packers and Vikings fans, we're constantly reminded that we haven't ever won a Super Bowl in our team's history.  I guess I don't think it's that big of a deal and imagined that the Packers wouldn't make a big deal about it in their stadium ether.  There's no way they'd completely rub it in opposing team's faces by having a giant statue erected of the Lombardi Trophy or anything.  That would just be a little too tacky of them to do such a thing.

The Mohars were nice enough to let us stay with them in the cabin they rented for the trip.  We were so excited to get away from Lambeau Field and away from all the Packers stuff.  We were just a little bit disappointed when we arrived.

We eventually made them leave the Packers Cabin and we spent the rest of the evening at Target.  Honestly it wasn't too bad once we got past the shrine to the Green Bay Packers that the Target has spread across the entire first half of the store.

@toddswank In 1988, I worked at Kentuckey Fried Chicken. I also loved rap music. When my boss heard my rap about KFC, he asked if he could use it for a radio commercial. I was happy to help. #KFC #rapsong #radio #commercial #kfcrap ♬ original sound - Todd Swank

@toddswank More footage of the guy riding his motorcycle on Prior Lake in 50 degree weather. #winterriding #thinice #motorcycle #snowmobile #priorlake #minnesota ♬ Seven Nation Army - 苏七岁