HEY HIATT!

It scared me!

We had traveled from Utah to North Carolina to visit my husband's parents, B. C. and Virginia Hiatt, and were given a bedroom at the front of the house. It was a warm night, and the windows were open as we hoped for any kind of breeze.

Papaw drove for Redbird Cab Company. I don't know what hours he usually worked, but at this time he worked a night shift. He picked up a fare, a man he knew who was obviously drunk and apparently just wanted a safe place in which to sleep it off. Papaw loaded him into the cab and drove him around for awhile. Then he decided to come home for breakfast. While he was in the kitchen cooking up some country ham, the man woke up, realized where he was, and came looking for Papaw. It was still very early. He didn't want to bother everybody in the house by knocking on the door, so he started scratching on the window screen and whispering, "Hey Hiatt! Hey Hiatt!"

I woke up in a panic and shook Jack awake. As soon as he realized what was happening, he told me not to worry and went to get his father. Apparently this was not an unusual happening as Papaw had empathy for drunks and helped them whenever he could.

Since that day, if I've wanted to get the attention of a family member without being loud, I whisper, "Hey Hiatt! Hey Hiatt!"