Welcome Home, Captain Hooker.

I don't know about every branch of the military, but Spike's sphere of acquaintances seem to be big on nicknames. You've probably been tipped off by the subhead of this blog that my man's nickname is "Butters," (yeah, like on South Park). Professor Pete has been mentioned on ArmyHarmony before, and I've also heard talk of "Gummy Bear" and "Captain Fingernails" (yuck), to name a few more.

The original Butters. Like the Captain, he's blond, optimistic, and often the voice of reason.

It's only natural, therefore, that one of Spike's closest Army friends also has a nickname: The Hooker. No, I'm not exactly sure how this nickname sprang into being...but I am fairly certain that it didn't derive from a resemblance to the Civil War general of the same name.

The Hooker, in all of his manly glory. Look at the strength in those arms, the focus in those eyes...Pride of the Army, indeed.

The Hooker is actually a really good egg. Like Spike, he's a chemical officer, and he can eat astounding amounts in one sitting. Had Spike stayed at Fort Bragg, I'm sure he and I would spend a good bit of our leisure time with Mr. and Mrs. Hooker. The two Captains have quite an entertaining friendship because they cheerfully threaten one another in most of their interactions. For example, Spike will inform The Hooker that he's bought some salt and plans to dump it in the Hooker yard in the shape of an "H," thus killing the grass. In return, The Hooker routinely threatens to serve as a mentor to Spike's future kids. (That's unsettling for me; they'll probably come home from Uncle Hooker's house and leave burning bags of poo on the neighbors' porches.)

Right now, though, I'd mainly like to point out that The Hooker seems to be one of the biggest fans (maybe THE biggest fan) of this blog, at least that I'm aware of. He's always asking the Captain when I'm going to write another post. I think they're like bedtime stories for him.

So, that being the case, I want to publicly welcome him home from South Korea, where he's spent the last month living in a tent in order to attend some sort of training, I believe. Yeah, a month's absence isn't so bad in Army terms, relatively speaking--but I know The Hooker's wife, dog, and friends missed him and are glad he's back.

Welcome Home, Captain Hooker!

May the smell of kimchi not linger long on your skin.

  

You can see from the Captain's loving caress just how much he and The Hooker esteem one another. I would call it a bromance, but Spike disdains that term. Also in the picture are Mrs. Hooker and Spike's parents.

Here's to friends, and to safe homecomings!