Tinker Hatfield

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Casey and the fireman’s hat

Casey Hatfield at Waterford

Casey with the fireman’s hat at the Waterford Crystal factory in Ireland. Photo by David Lansing.

We have just started the tour at the Waterford Crystal factory when Casey spots a crystal fireman’s helmet. She lifts it, surprised at how heavy it is. I ask her if she can hold it over her head, like she’s going to put it on, while I take a photo, but she’s afraid she’ll drop it. And, you know, owe Waterford twenty thousand dollars or something.

Of all the crystal pieces we see at Waterford—a Viking’s ship, a piano, even a scene of the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11–Casey is drawn to the fireman’s helmet because her husband, Justin, is a firefighter. I tell her she should buy it for him, as a souvenir.

“Oh, sure,” she says.

Jan and I met Casey three or four days ago but we have already decided to adopt her. Not that she needs (or wants) to be adopted. She has adoring parents back in Oregon, but we don’t care. We want her to be our “other daughter.” When we tell Casey this, she smiles and says, “I’m not sure how your real daughter would feel about that.”

We met Casey when we were standing in front of Ballymaloe with about 20 other people waiting for a photographer to set up a group shot. While the photographer’s assistant moved the tall people in the back and the short people in the front, Jan made small-talk with Casey. In about two minutes, she discovered that 1) her dad not only went to college with us but was in the dorm next door 2) that her mom was in Jan’s sorority house and 3) that her aunt was Jan’s roommate for a year.

Not only that, but her dad is none other than Tinker Hatfield. THE Tinker Hatfield. If you don’t know who Tinker Hatfield is, just Google his name. I don’t want to spoil it for you. You’ll be amazed you didn’t know who he was.

But we don’t want to adopt Casey because she’s Tinker Hatfield’s daughter; we want to adopt her because she is just one of the sweetest, most sincere people we’ve ever met. Just like our real daughter. And I think the two would really like each other. Although, now that I think of it, she’d also be a perfect match for our son who is about the same age. If it wasn’t for the fact that she’s already married to the fireman. Damn.

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