If I could take time in a bottle
I can't take time in a bottle, but for a few minutes on a Monday afternoon I popped a Jim Croce tape into an old 8-track tape player and took myself back to 1972. To my shock, that old relic fired...
View ArticleThanks to the Appleton Historical Society for a fascinating football exhibit
Among the thorough and fascinating new features on display at the Appleton Historical Society's new football exhibit is a tribute to my dad, Ron Kostelnik. We're all so honored by the tribute and...
View ArticleThe 26th pick and he didn’t even know he was drafted
NOTE: In honor of the 2025 NFL Draft being held at Lambeau Field, I am re-sharing some of my favorite posts about the draft. This one tells the story of my dad's experience. Due to the 26th Amendment,...
View ArticleRings of truth and history and love
Last night we saw an older couple digging through a trash can as we hustled by. Our turn-by-turn directions recalculated, and sent us right back past them. I noticed they'd sorted the garbage into...
View ArticleMy coat of many (but really just two) colors
My husband unearthed a real gem during his ruthless attic purge a few weeks ago. “Hey, I found this red and green coat,” he casually said Saturday afternoon. “I hung it in the garage to air out. Do you...
View ArticleA New Jersey girl with deep Packer roots
We took our little West Orange bagel to Lambeau Field on Saturday and bought her a New Jersey. That her jersey bore the last name and playing number of her Great-Grandpa Ron and she wore it as we...
View ArticleIn our father’s eyes
In most cases, the pictures are more than a half century old and the photographer who took them has been gone for 30 years. But, unearthed just recently, they offer an astonishing gift. My dad did more...
View ArticleLove behind a lens
I can't tell you how cranky my mom and I were when my sister Jenny sent us on an errand earlier this week, and how grateful I am for the magical rabbit hole it sent me down. The errand was to pick up a...
View ArticleFaceTime with Grandpa Ron
My Dad’s first grandchild was born in a city almost four hours away from him. Shortly after, my mom started a graduate school program not too far from our apartment. This meant, among other things, she...
View ArticleThank you Mr. Biever
Beyond his talent and the way he could tell a whole story with a single image, NFL Hall of Fame photographer Vern Biever was a really nice guy. One day several years ago, my mom received an unsolicited...
View Article30 years later, the gratitude remains
I had the honor of writing both my dad’s obituary and his eulogy after he suffered a fatal heart attack while driving 65 miles an hour up Highway 75 during Super Bowl weekend 30 years ago. He has been...
View ArticlePennies from heaven
I pulled out my winter coat yesterday and discovered a familiar surprise. My hand brushed against it as I rooted around my pocket for a glove. It had been eight months since I'd worn that coat so I was...
View ArticleSeasons spinning round again
Some gifts arrive in exactly the right season. Take, for instance, the framed photograph our friend Deb dropped off for us. As Packer team pictures go, it's a relatively famous shot of one of the...
View ArticleTunnell vision and a really nice man
Emlen Tunnell, who followed a storied Coast Guard career with an equally impressive NFL career and was, by all accounts, a remarkable human being, once popped in to visit my dad, Ron Kostelnik. Having...
View ArticleOn Labor’s Day
In honor of Labor Day 2021, I'd like to salute the word. Here's to: Honest work and the people who take pride in it. Parents who teach their children the value of effort and who aren't afraid to let...
View ArticleTable talk and a really kind soul
As long as I can remember, we have tried to sit at one of two particular tables at the Clubhouse inside the Red Lion Paper Valley Hotel, because they had pictures of my dad on them. Each table in that...
View ArticleHappy Father’s Day to a bunch of the best
Sometimes, fatherhood looks like Opie Taylor on a Sunday afternoon in Mayberry, a warm spot on a river bank where it doesn’t even matter if the fish are biting because the river is nice and cool on...
View ArticleA lost Super Bowl ring and an apt middle name
My brother Mike lost the Super Bowl II ring he inherited from my dad, and he's doing everything he can to retrieve it. Of course, he regrets losing such a meaningful piece of memorabilia, but he has no...
View ArticleMy father’s legacy
On the 28th anniversary of the day he died, I will honor my father’s legacy by enjoying its most tangible asset, the cabin he had built on a relatively isolated river in northern Wisconsin. A welcome...
View ArticleDid he or didn’t he?
When Gale Sayers died earlier this week, he left a legacy of elegance on and off the field. The Hall of Fame running back famously said "All I needed was 18 inches," to break open a run, and his...
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