Footnote to the family reunion

One thing that I found interesting at the reunion was the touching belief among my relatives that, because I work for the yankee government in Washington, I might have some special insights into the upcoming election (the Paco clan has been solidly Republican since Reconstruction, and there was absolutely no one at the reunion that wasn't pulling for Romney). There was an earnestness to their interest in the election that was far greater than in previous times - probably because these good, deeply conservative, hard-working, self-reliant people realize the importance of the stakes involved. I did my best to be upbeat, and informed them of what appears to be a big shift toward Romney in most of the polls. In any event, there won't be any shirking among the Pacos come election day.

I will close with a story Old Paco told the crowd about his early days in law enforcement when he was a deputy sheriff. He was out on patrol one evening and cruised over by one of the remote roads that served as a lovers' lane. He spotted a car and went up to it and flashed his light inside, catching a couple in the backseat preparing for a frolic. Old Paco smiled and asked, "What are you doing, mister?" The man replied, "I came up here to canoodle with my wife." Old Paco said, "How come you're married and you came all the way out here to make love to your wife?" The fellow said, "Well, I didn't know she was my wife 'til you flashed that damn light in here!"

Mmmm,y-e-s. Possibly an apocryphal tale, but, still, you never know...

Update: One last footnote, and then I'm done. We had a very distinguished person in attendance at the reunion: Billy Queen. He's not a blood relation, but is a kind of relative by marriage. Billy was also a member of the ATF and had an outstanding career (see here for details).