Following is an e-mail I sent to family members today:
Hello family members,
Last night I was feeling quite low. This will be the first Christmas in 57 years without Mary. I know that all of you miss her very much in different ways, especially Wynn and Martha. Daughters have a special relationship with their mothers that no one else can come close to equaling, no matter the relationship. I also talked earlier in the evening with Billy Rogers, the oldest son of Jim and Jo Rogers, family friends for over 50 years in Hanahan. Jim is not doing well. They will bring him home from the hospital on Friday and put a hospital bed in the master bedroom. Hospice will be in attendance. It is not a happy time for our dear friends. This information was not helpful to my psyche.
I tried to busy myself around the apartment, but there is only so much you can do in such a small place to keep busy. I tried the TV but nothing held my interest. Then I went to the few books I kept when I closed out the house in Hanahan (and gave almost 700 books to the Friends of the Library in Berkeley County.) I hung onto the few books about the Green Bay Packers, as I had been a fan since my teen years. Last night, I chose Mike Shropshire's sports classic, "The Ice Bowl," and opened the book to chapter 13. The early chapters discussed the Packers and Dallas Cowboys, the seasons they had and how they came to be playing on the frozen tundra of Lambeau field on this last day in 1967.
I remember that day as if it was yesterday. Frankie and James and I were glued to the black and white TV we had in the den at 1128 John Rutledge. Patrick was six and Martha was three. (Wynn was in the future.) They and Mary were elsewhere in the house. Mary was fixing Sunday dinner which we would eat in late afternoon, early evening, "after the game."
The sunrise temperature In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reached the lowest December reading since 1924. At game time in Green Bay it was 13 degrees below zero. The field heating system failed. The Packers got off to an early lead but soon it disappeared and at halftime it was only 14-10 in favor of the Packers. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Dan Reeves threw a halfback-option pass to a wide open Lance Rentzel and Dallas went ahead 17-14.
The clock kept running and with 4:35 left in the game the Packers took over.They were 68 ice-choked yards away. Frankie, James and I saw there, watching, hoping, praying and probably biting our fingernails. We were not talking. We were as serious about that game as the players on the field. With thirteen seconds left on the game clock the Packers were 13 inches from their third straight NFL title. Starr called time out, the last one the Packers had, and went to the sidelines. Only much later would we learn what was said between he and Vince Lombardi.
And then Starr brought the Packers up to the line and was barking signals. Chuck Mercein, filling in at fullback for the inured Don Grabowski, expected to get the ball. He charged forward and saw Starr dive into the line clutching the ball in his arms and Mercein threw his arms up in the air as the referee signaled "touchdown." The boys and I were ecstatic, we hooped and hollered and hugged and brought everyone in the house to the den to see what was going on. It was the best afternoon the boys and I had ever shared together and today, 44 years later, reading about that day and remembering the shared moments lifts and brightens my spirits and gives me renewed energy. It was a great moment in Packers history but more important to me it was a great moment shared with two sons. To this day the memory is an enchanted moment you had to personally live to fully appreciate.
*****
About ten years ago, Mary and I went to Lambeau Field on our driving trip to Alaska. A docent took us and some others on a tour of that fabled stadium. When she got us into the stands she pointed to an end zone and asked, "Does anyone know what that is?" I was quicker off the mark than Jerry Kramer when he threw the block on Pugh to open the hole for Starr, "That's where Bart Starr dove to glory in the Ice Bowl," I said.
Everything in my life is going well. My health is good. I watch my weight, although I periodically have to seriously back away from the table. I am fortunate to live in a nice community surrounded by many fine people and enjoy a good reputation among them. I am optimistic about the upcoming new year, for myself, my country and hopefully all of you.
I pray and hope the Christmas season will bring happiness to each of you and that the coming year will be one of the richest in your life.
Love
Dad/Bud/Arch
