I had been hoping to attend the NSS Convention since leaving the last one in Michigan.
My wife, Magdalena could not understand what all the hoopla was because she is not a caver, and has never been to an NSS Convention. I tried to explain that it was kind of like the TSA Convention but only bigger, as she has attended at least 2 of those. A few days before the trip she started to sound like she was backing out. She seemed more inclined to stay home on the couch and watch spanish soap operas. I would have been content to go with just me and the baby, but she wouldn't allow it. Thursday, my mother-in-law, ( la suegra ) cancelled her plans to return home to Mexico and decided to join us. I actually wanted this for several reasons. First, I really wanted Dalena to have some of the same fond memories that I have camping with my grandparents and two, I needed someone to babysit my wife, as she can be difficult sometimes. And I also felt that the suegra would be able to keep an eye on the baby while I was in the NSS sessions. Saturday night, as I was still trying to finish packing, it became obvious that my wife didn't want to go. Surprisingly, my mother-in-law had been ready all day and was waiting on us. I was faced with a dilema. I decided to sleep on it, and to try to get an early start on Sunday morning. Sunday morning, I sit in the van wait patiently for the 3 of them to get in. I started to notice a burning smell. I looked around the neighborhood and the smell became stronger like a house on fire. Suddenly, I noticed the smoke was coming from the back of MY house. I ran inside; and the kitchen was all filled with smoke and there was no alarm going off. There was nobody screaming. I noticed the microwave door open and the back door open. I ran out in the back yard and the 3 of them are just sitting there starring at some tamales that were billowing smoke. I said to my wife in the most pleasant tone I could come up with, "What in the f$%# is going on here.?" She said she had wrapped some tamales in aluminum foil, stuck the package in a cotton dishtowl and heated them in the microwave. She said the towel caught fire and she had to run out the backdoor and throw them into the yard. ( These types of events are standard moments when Magdalena is in the kitchen, but I knew that before getting married. ) It was noon before we ever got on the road. I drove all the way to Meridian Mississippi, stopping only once for about 10 minutes at the Isle of Capri Casino, where I lost $ 25 in a slot machine. While trying to fall asleep in the hotel, I pondered the idea, that maybe I should have just driven alone in my hybrid car to the convention. But I can't go more than a few hours without seeing the baby. David Locklear
