If his wife is the War Department does that make his mother-in-law the head of the DOD?

I made it to Hot Springs Wednesday night and woke up Thursday, getting ready to, literally, go over the river and through the woods to my grandmother's house for the traditional Thankgiving family gathering. The phone rang and my mom answered, and brought it to me. I asked who it was, since I don't usually get calls at home anymore. Mom mouthed "I don't know" and handed me the phone, but I should have known it would be Chief. We talked for just a minute or two about our respective trips from Illinois and Tennessee and about our plans for the big day of family whatnot, and said we would try to get together before he left on Saturday.

Thanksgiving came and went as it always does, me being stuffed and our mini-van making it back to Hot Springs after dark. My sister and her family went to Dallas to be with her husband's family, so with no nieces or nephews around to liven up the evening I decided to go to the movies. I saw "Unbreakable" and wasn't overwhelmed. I liked it, but, as you may have heard from other reviews, "it wasn't 'The Sixth Sense'."

Friday was a series of errands early in the day, first with Dad and then with Mom, and Dad and I settled in to the living room to watch football around mid-afternoon. I've never been a huge football fan, so with my parent's little dog curled up at my feet, I dozed off on the couch early in the game. Then the doorbell rang, and we almost never get people at the front door. I knew who it was, even though the aluminium foil was in place over the diamond-shaped window in the front door (you know, so people can't "look in"). I opened the door and there was Chief.

I envited him in, confident that he was not a vampire, and introduced him to my dad. They hit it off immediately, helped in part by the fact that Dad has used his brother-in-law Wayne as the family mechanic for years. Chief appeared decked out in jeans and a plaid shirt, carting his own coffee in a new Harry Potter mug. We sat around the living room and talked for about half an hour or so, describing to my dad how we knew each other (I'm still not sure he completely understands), talking about road trips to and from Hot Springs, our families, all the food we ate in the past 24 hours, and about old cars and how lucky we are to be able to spend time with the people we care about.

I was able to detour my mom from her cooking for about a minute to introduce her, then she rushed back to the boiling pots and warming cookie sheets. I explained to Chief that I had to hold the dog because if I put her on the floor she yipped until I picked her up again. I demonstrated this, so he knows that it is true. We had a good time talking and meeting for the first time, and Chief got to see a bit of the environment that made me who I am today. We said our goodbyes and he made it back down the street, braving the traffic along Golf Links Rd. that crosses Terry Street.

Since the 4th of July is a gathering time for Chief's family and I'm so close to Hot Springs, I'm hoping we can meet up again next summer. Whadda ya say, Chief? The Dixie Cafe is only a mile or so down the road, and their chicken fried steak is mighty tasty.

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