Ludlow: Packers training camp — let the games begin

There is excitement in the air, especially around Lambeau Field in Green Bay. The railbirds are making their way to Titletown with hopes of getting a glimpse of their favorite players practicing their skills.

Fans are expecting big things from the team this year if some of the young guys can emerge as contributors.

Jordy Nelson should be back for the regular season. That will likely improve the wide receivers and will also have a positive affect on the running game. Looking forward to a season of excitement.

It's been a busy couple of days for me. A friend of mine was visiting from California. In fact, it was one of the gals I went out there with many, many years ago. She was here for three weeks and was supposed to catch her return flight to Green Bay on Tuesday, late afternoon.

Mary Higginbotham, whose maiden name was Ziemer, currently owns her parent's home in Kewaunee, and she was busy doing chores before leaving for the airport Monday. As a result, she kind of lost track of time. She had rented a car at the airport and also had to return that before catching her flight.

Well, as luck would have it, she arrived at the airport too late to catch her flight and had to make other arrangements. She then found out that the soonest she could leave was early Wednesday morning. So I get a call a little after 6 p.m. and learned of her circumstances. She needed a ride back to Kewaunee.

Now, because of my cataracts, I have avoided driving in traffic and was a little leary of going to the airport. But not knowing who else to ask, I decided to go for it and drove in to pick her up. Everything went fine, although I did have problems reading signs. But I didn't get lost and found her waiting with her luggage at the airport.

We loaded her bags into the car and made it back to Kewaunee, no problem. I said I would pick her up at 4:30 the next morning. Whenever I have to get up early, I have problems sleeping the night before and it was after midnight the last time I looked at my watch. But I got up before 4 a.m., got dressed and went to pick her up. She wasn't quite ready but finally we were on our way.

We arrived there later than they had advised, but she did manage to catch her flight, and I was back home before 7 a.m. Hopefully, she will get back safely. As I'm writing this, she is still traveling.

It was a tiring day, but it always makes a person feel good to help out a friend in need.

Have a great week, everyone!

Barb Ludlow is a former Kewaunee County reporter. Email her at bludlow1@charter.net.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press Gazette: Ludlow: Packers training camp — let the games begin