Meet the Thompsons!

So my cousin is doing a photography apprenticeship for the Sears portrait studio in Ashwaubenon. You know -- change the backdrops, adjust the lights, wave a stuffed monkey in front of the kids, etc. And oh yeah, he also develops the photos and picked up this one-of-a-kind.

The other day the head photographer, Jo-Jo, told my cousin to go home over lunch and clean himself up because there was a VIP coming that afternoon for a PPS (private photo shoot). My cousin obliged, swapping the jean shorts and cutoff shirt for some Wranglers and a polo. Just as Jo-Jo foretold, right at three o’clock a badass Kia Sportage pulls up and out pops Packers GM Ted Thompson and his family.

They locked down the studio for three hours that day, shooting the Thompsons in every conceivable backdrop: the prairie, the library, the stone temple, the discotheque, and of course, gray clothtown. Apparently, the shoot went great and the Thompsons were just a real delight. This particular picture was taken toward the end and Big Ted’s hair was kind of swooping up on the left side all afternoon so he was constantly brushing it back. My cousin offered his back-pocket comb, but Ted simply licked his fingers, opting instead for the old-fashioned hand-comb. Who knew Ted Thompson’s spit doubled as hair gel? The legend grows...