Meet the relatives...and the contest winner

Two news items today: There was a gender contest winner after all, and Wilson's relatives have descended on my condo. First, the news about the visitors:

This probably comes as no surprise, but as soon as you announce a relationship, as we did in our March 1 dispatch, you get to meet the relatives. If you're lucky, you only have to meet a few of them. And Wilson and I were fortunate--only 10 of Wilson's kin descended on my condo this week, and fortunately, they don't take up a lot of room. And being virtually immortal, they don't consume a lot of food and drink.

This is a group shot of them in my TV/Guest/Living Room/Study. That's Wilson, in the center, wearing their usual kinky see-through net restraing tether. It's what keeps us together on the trail.

And here's Wilson with the two relatives that will be going to an orphanage in Ecuador. If you look closely, you may distinguish the difference between them and the others. Well, OK, maybe. The rest will be hiking with me and Wilson for our Madison Street Marathon on March 15.

Piercings

In order to carry eight of them on that 27-mile jaunt, I've taken advantage of the rather strange piercings Wilson's kinfolk go in for -- studs with loops. It always grosses me out when people tug on their tongue studs, but these aren't as disgusting, because the futbols have good body tone and they don't have pieces that flop around when you tug on the studs.

I call these particular studs Wilson Marathon Loops. I'll be connecting them with twine to gather them together and provide a convenient hand hold while I'm hiking. People will gawk and say, "Doesn't that hurt? Why don't they deflate?!?!" and I'll tell them, "because these balls are tough enough to survive in a refugee camp!" Something like that.

 There will be two bunches of four futbols hiking with me, while Wilson will be attached to my back and bobbing along behind. I'll have a photo for you next week, after the T-shirts arrive.

Ooops! I just checked the mail. The T-shirts  have arrived! The image below shows what the back and front look like. The right side shows the truer color -- which virtually matches the futbols. I'd model it, but Wilson can't hold a camera steady, and no-one else is around right now.

Naming

Now naturally you are wondering about the names of the other futbols. That's up to you. Anyone who purchases a one-world Futbol online will have the opportunity to name one of those balls and to actually sign it with a message of good will to the people of Quito, Ecuador. A Spanish or Quechua name is preferable. And you can sign your name, as well. You just tell me you purchased a ball. If the numbers of donations increase, I'll take your word that you are one of the donors. Most of you readers are pretty trustworthy.

Oh, I know--signing the ball isn't quite the same as having your name etched into a brick next to the Pike Place Market pig, but it's something. Hope you like the idea.

Correction:

Oh, by the way, sometimes it's hard to get good help. I'm not going to even hint at who made the error, because my staff is so small it wouldn't be hard to figure out who I was talking about, and I don't want to embarrass anyone. But someone failed to notice that we did indeed have a contest winner for selecting Wilson's gender. Carla Stanley, the customer service representative for One World Play Project, stated it succinctly in an e-mail:

I don't think Wilson is male or female. I think he is the embodiment of the best in all of us because of the love he has spread by virtue of his One World Futbolness.

There's that "he" pronoun again. Well, OK, Carla,you still get the chocolates. There's a picture below of Carla up real close and personal with a Wilson stand-in. Are they smooching? It's hard to tell, but I have my suspicions. The photo caused me to Google "kissing with eyes open," and some of the commentary was fascinating.

For her astute answer, Carla has received a box of See's chocolates, and not just any chocolates, but chocolates whose initials represent the five letters of her name (lemon, lime, almond, cherry, raspberry, coconut, etc.) Carla expressed her appreciation by sending us a photo of the chocolates, the enclosed card, and the stand-in for Wilson, at the right. She noted the stand-in was a little irritated due to the absence of a mouth. (Must have been a one-way kiss, eh?) Carla won't be able to share those chocolates with any One World Futbol anytime soon. Like that bothers her.

I think that's all for today.

Love,

Robert, and
Wilson