The Greatest of These by Greg Wendleton (booksvooks txt) 📕

for emergency use in the United States. Special handling, storage and shipment would be required to get the vaccine out to the masses. Through some old friends and contacts in the military, people in decision making positions had reached out to him, seeking his professional experience to aid in a seamless distribution of the vaccine. The leading vaccine candidate had to be stored at a super cold temperature, something like -60 degrees Fahrenheit. That would require knowledge and contacts that only decades of experience, like Chad’s, could deliver. At last, the big break he had been waiting for.

Arrangements had to be made to move frozen vaccine, stored in crates with nearly one thousand doses per crate, from the production facilities to major distribution centers across the country. Can you imagine the complexity of setting up frozen warehouses in major metropolitan markets and then, while keeping it stored at -60 degrees, delivering it to hospitals, county health agencies and to rural areas? To successfully pull this off would require teams of experts working around the clock for months on end. And that’s exactly what Chad and many other teams did on behalf of Operation Warp Speed starting in December of 2020.

Chad was absolutely worn out after several months of working around the clock, but he had a bounce in his step and a look of success he proudly wore on his face. Chad had also shared that his team was working on one more major shipment to Southeast Asia. So, when he came over in early February and asked me if we would watch their beloved dog, Chief, for a week or so while he took Jamie to their favorite spot on earth, Maui, for a much needed vacation, I completely understood. Knowing, firsthand the need to get away after a difficult work period, and more importantly thanking your spouse for putting up with the demands, I gladly said yes.

Chad had told me they were going to stay at a quaint spot on the north shore of Maui called The Inn at Mama’s Fish House. It’s on a secluded stretch of white sand beach, nestled into a coconut grove. There is a five-star restaurant and a small collection of beachside suites and cottages within minutes of the super-cool town of Paia. It’s reported that celebrities like Willie Nelson and Woody Harrelson have homes there.

While they are there, they intend to visit some old friends and revisit some of their favorite spots. The Ocean Distillery, the town of Lahaina and for some reason the Engine 13 fire station in Kula. They had been to Maui several times in the past, but not since they got their dog, Chief, two years ago. They loved that pup as if he was one of their children and had not left him alone for more than a few hours at a time in the two years they’d had him. He was a bit anxious, but seemed to like Fonda and me. What’s not to like, right?

So, now here we are, a snowy day in late February, with Chief moping around our house sniffing our butts and trying to figure out where Chad and Jamie were. Right as we were beginning to worry about his sluggish behavior my iPad chirped with a FaceTime call. It was Chad Wilhite calling.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Hey guys, how are you doing and how’s Chief?” asked Chad as soon as I hit the accept button on my iPad.

“He’s doing okay, I think. He’s missing you.” I replied.

“We were afraid he might, that’s why we decided to FaceTime as soon as we got settled into our cottage. Hey Chief, how ya doin’ buddy?”

Chief’s ears lifted and he stuck his large head right up onto the iPad keyboard and barked once and started wagging his tail. “Hey, buddy, are you being a good boy for Garret and Fonda? What do you think of the snow?”

Chief started talking back to Chad with Jamie busting out with a big smile and an endearing laugh. It’s like they all understood each other, but it just sounded like a bunch of mumbled growls and grunting noises to me. That’s probably what Chief thought of the noises Fonda and I were making earlier that afternoon.

Soon he sat at our feet and stared at the screen as the four humans conversed. I told them about our walk this morning, leaving out the Ric Flair strut and Nature Boy call just before he goosed me. We talked about the bizarre weather, their good decision to fly to Los Angeles the day before, and a few questions we had about Chief’s care while they were away.

“Hey, we really appreciate you kids watching our boy for us. We had a hard time making this decision to leave him for the first time. But, we trust you to take care of him and remind him that we’ll be back soon.”

“It’s our pleasure and truly an honor for you to trust us with his care.” I smiled at Fonda as she delivered that reassuring message to Chad and Jamie.

Before things got too mushy, I blurted, “So, what’s on the agenda for you two?”

“Sun, surf and none of your business” Chad quickly retorted with a mischievous grin.

Jamie countered, “Seriously, rest and relaxation. Chad has promised to leave the COVID logistics issues to his team for the week and has promised me a surprise while we’re here.”

“Oh yeah? Is it a big surprise Chad?”

“It could be. I finally have made some money on my logistics consulting and have a really major deal that should come together in the next twenty-four hours. That might allow us to purchase a vacation home right here on Maui!”

Jamie’s jaw dropped so quickly that it looked like a puppet’s master had just let go of the strings. “What did you say? Did I hear you say vacation home, here, on Maui?”

“Yup. I made an appointment with a realtor, Scott Crowley, from Paradise Realty for the day after tomorrow” said a