About The River

Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Go Bears!! And it is the Hodgepodge

 

 

Hello Friends,

That is me. I loved the Chicago Bears. Yep, I know I am a born and bread Wisconsin girl. And now you know a deep dark secret about this Wisconsin girl, she did not cheer for the Green Bay Packers.

It is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?  On a scale of 1-10 how much of a fan are you? (10 is never miss a game and 1 is I'm just here for the snacks). Who's your team? If you're playing along today, but live outside the US feel free to sub your feelings about futbol for the more American sport of football. 

 

Once upon a time...  I was a big football fan. I was a 10!! Take note of the above photo.

Things changed in the NFL and with the changes my excitement left me. I was seeing more politics on the field than football.

 

 2. What's something you currently have a game plan for managing? 

 

 My husband and I have some upcoming travel plans. It is time to get the planning in motion.

 

 3. Do you like chicken wings? I do like chicken wings.  Hot, mild, or some other flavor? I am more of a mild kind of gal with all foods.  What's a must have food for you on a tailgate menu? We tailgate at Milwaukee Brewer baseball games. Oh it is so fun to tailgate at Miller Park... yep I still call it Miller Park. We have brats.. the good old Wisconsin way.  I know tailgating isn't as big of a thing outside the US of A as it is inside the US of A, but you can also answer the question this way-what's a must have food for you at a sporting event viewing party? 

 

 

Me at Miller Park in 2016.. when it was still called Miller Park. The last time I  was at a game was in 2019. We had a fun, fun tailgate party and  the stadium was renamed, American Family Field. 

 

4. Teams typically have strict playbooks they follow. What is one unwritten rule or piece of advice in your 'life playbook' you think everyone should know? 

 

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.”
― Charles Swindoll 
 
 
 5. This is the week we remember and mourn all that was lost and changed on September 11, 2001. I always include a spot for bloggers to share anything they'd like to share about 9/11. Share as much or as little as you like. 
 
 
 
The Red Bandanna
Book by Tom Rinaldi
 
 One Sunday morning before church, when Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red handkerchief for his back pocket. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come; it became a fixture and his signature.

A standout athlete growing up in Upper Nyack, NY, Welles was also a volunteer at the local fire department, along with his father. He cherished the necessity and the camaraderie, the meaning of the role. Fresh from college, he took a Wall Street job on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, but the dream of becoming a firefighter with the FDNY remained.

When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’s parents had no idea what happened to him. In the unbearable days that followed, they came to accept that he would never come home. But the mystery of his final hours persisted. Eight months after the attacks, however, Welles’s mother read a news account from several survivors, badly hurt on the 78th floor of the South Tower, who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly twenty flights of stairs.  After leading them down, the young man turned around.  “I’m going back up,” was all he said.

The survivors didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna.

Tom Rinaldi’s The Red Bandanna is about a fearless choice, about a crucible of terror and the indomitable spirit to answer it. Examining one decision in the gravest situation, it celebrates the difference one life can make.
 
 
 6.Insert your own random thought here. 
 
Our morning glories are making me smile each and every day. 
Here is a smile for you. 
 

 

23 comments:

  1. Your flower pictures are lovely! Reading about Welles C. has me tearing up! I had never heard of this hero. Thanks for writing about it. I will look into getting the book. The quote by Charles Swindoll is a really good one. You know I have heard it before, several times in fact. But it's very timely for me right now! I'm glad to have reread it and I may read it again and again in the next few days. Thanks for sharing it!

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  2. Ha Ha Go Bears!!!! You were very brave to admit you love the Bears and not the Packers living in Wisconsin. Loving Green Bay is a religion up there lol! Terry is the biggest Bears fan in the world including our girls. Every Sunday is Sunday Funday around all of us. Go Bears! Have a great week. Hugs. Kris

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  3. That photo did make me smile. You did look like a massive fan, it's a shame politics ruined it for you.
    What you wrote for question 4 is so true and a fantastic piece of advice!
    Oh my goodness. That story about The Red Bandanna. What a hero!!

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  4. You are adorable in your Bears get-up! I used to watch college football, now I don't really watch any. Unless I'm invited to a SuperBowl party.

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  5. Politics is what turned me off from football. Totally ruined it for me. I wasn’t aaare of this story about the Red Bandana. Many hero’s were born that day!

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  6. I think many of us like the NFL a little bit less thanks to politics. Sadly I feel like college football is headed the same way. They're paid players now so let's just call them pros. I've read the Red Bandana story. So many acts of quiet heroism happened that day.

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  7. The morning glories are so pretty! I have such wonderful memories of them from my childhood. This book is so heroic and sad! I love the photo of you in the uniform!! Where will you be travelling to?

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  8. Hi Carla, I enjoyed reading your post today, especially the pictures and the story of the red handkerchief. Oh, and what Charles Swindol's said too!

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  9. Look at you all dressed up to cheer your team on! Love it. Yep, things haven't stayed the same with sports and teams. So sad. Love the morning glory photo and the quote from Swindoll.

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  10. The photo of you all dressed up is beautiful Carla!!!

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  11. You're so cute!! I love the pictures! Your morning glories are so pretty. I have a few small pink ones blooming that volunteered and came up.

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  12. That magenta and white Morning Glory flower is really unique and pretty! Gosh, I guess we've been football rivals for years, and didn't even know it. I grew up in Shawano, so I've been a Packer fan since the age of about nine. I love football games, but I definitely get frustrated and stressed when a game comes down the wire. Your young photo is so cute!

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  13. I can't believe I forgot to mention brats as a must-have tailgate party food!
    That is a great quote and lesson from Chuck Swindoll, and so very true. Our attitude is a make or break factor. Loved reading the summary of Welles - didn't I see that he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Freedom today?
    The morning glories are beautiful! Hope you're having a great week!

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  14. I am loving your pictures... You were so cute in your Chicago Bears outfit. Being from Texas I should cheer on the Dallas Cowboys, but I'm just not a fan.. I do like the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick. He is from our area and he is related to my nephew through marriage. Love the morning glories....

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  15. Love that photo of you. I'm surprised that you didn't care for Green Bay Packers. Living in Chicago we followed both. How exciting to be planning a trip. I've never been to a tailgate party. Another sweet photo of you. Excellent answer on #4 and I definitely need to change my attitude. This year has brought me down. I can't even come up with something to say about what you shared about 9/11. What a brave man with a kind heart. Thank you for the smile.

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  16. That first photo of you is so cute! BTW your Brewers have broken my heart his week, LOL!

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  17. Happy that I found your blog, Carla, I added you among my friends, only thing missing are translators:))
    Rainy greetings from my Slovenia, Andreja!

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  18. I am not a sports fan. I like to go watch hockey games and do kinda listen when the boys talk about sports but when they watch a game I am usually in bed reading or watching my own thing.

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  19. How cute are you in your Bears gear?!! We are traveling too. Can't wait to see where you end up! My morning glories have been making me SO happy too!

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  20. Carla, is this a cheerleading outfit? You look so cute in your uniform. My son played football all through high school, so I saw "this and that" during that whole time, but thankfully, he always started, and they treated him well. How fun that you did some tailgating at the baseball games. Your Wisconsin brats sound delicious. I like that quote you shared about attitude. Thank you for sharing that. Your morning glories are beauties. Have a sweet September weekend, Carla.

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  21. I have chills from the red bandana story. I've heard that before, it's the literal definition of a hero. Also, I've always thought your boys looked like your husband, but seeing that picture of you in your Bears outfit..wow!! They look like you!!

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  22. My rating as a football fan is probably a -10! I'm not even here for the snacks! Love the red bandana story.

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  23. What a hero Welles was. There were many that day who sacrificed their lives. I hope we never forget. I am a Lion's fan and am watching the game right now. I also watch our University of Michigan college team....even though my granddaughter so to Michigan State. Janice

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High Fives from Wisconsin!