Like millions of other Americans, congressmen rushed home as Thanksgiving neared, eager to relax and feast with their families.
But members of the Arkansas delegation had other plans as well, things they hoped to accomplish before this vacation is over.
Asked what he was looking forward to besides eating turkey and seeing relatives, 3rd District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack said "deer hunting."
"I'd like to go a step beyond last year when, really, all I did was sit quietly in my stand without a trophy. This year I'd like to be able to be able harvest a deer," the Rogers Republican said.
He hunts on a friend's property somewhere near the line between Benton and Madison counties, and it's enjoyable, regardless of whether he bags any game.
"Just being in the stand is just a pretty good feeling, you know, to sit there with only your thoughts and nature. It's a pretty special time because I don't get too much of that [opportunity]," Womack said.
Other than that, he predicted the highlights would be spending time with the grandchildren and watching the University of Arkansas Razorbacks play the Missouri Tigers in Fayetteville. Womack says he's been a big-time Razorback fan since moving to the state in 1973, but he spent his childhood in the Show-Me State, "so I kind of grew up a Missouri Tiger fan."
In the hunt
Other delegation members also looked forward to being outdoorsmen.
Second District U.S. Rep. French Hill hurried back to Arkansas so he could hunt the weekend before Thanksgiving.
It's an annual tradition for the Little Rock Republican and a handful of friends. They spent a day on Bayou Meto somewhere between Humnoke and Stuttgart.
"This is a group that I've hunted with for over 20 years opening weekend, so we always love each other's company and love being outdoors."
Asked how they fared, Hill said, "There were a lot of ducks in the sky and a lot of shooting around us and we had a respectable showing, but not impressive."
The five sportsmen brought back 13 mallards.
Wade in the water
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, whose 1st Congressional District includes trout streams, hoped to grab a fishing pole.
The Red and Spring rivers, which run through his district, are two of his favorite places to cast a line; he prefers fly fishing.
"You're out in the river as opposed to being in a boat or on the bank. It makes you a little more a part of it," the Jonesboro Republican said. "I especially like the cold water. It's invigorating."
The fish he hooks don't end up in a frying pan. "I just kind of like that whole idea of catching them and letting them go," he said. "I always release them."
Run and roll
Another member of the delegation, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, had a trip to the Middle East scheduled the weekend before Thanksgiving but was to return to Arkansas in time to enjoy the holiday.
The Dardanelle Republican, who became a father in April, planned to lace up his sneakers Thanksgiving morning and hit the pavement.
"My son and my wife and I are going run in his first foot race, although I don't think he'll be running. He'll just be rolling in it. We're going to do a Turkey Trot there in Little Rock before we celebrate Thanksgiving," Cotton said.
Asked which parent would be pushing the 7-month-old toward the finish line, Cotton laughed and said the baby's mother, Anna Cotton, would have a say in the decision.
"I'll start at least, but if she wants to take over, I'll give her the stroller," he said.
Spectre spectator?
Cotton's colleague, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, planned to root for the Razorbacks and find reading material that isn't published by the Government Printing Office.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Arkansas beat Missouri on television, and I have to do lots of reading [for work], so perhaps reading a book just for enjoyment."
The precise title hadn't been selected at the time of the interview.
"I'm going to look and see and kind of get some suggestions as to what that should be. Just something for entertainment," the Rogers Republican said. "I haven't been to a movie in a long, long time, so I might catch the new James Bond movie or whatever," he said.
Spectre, the 24th film in the 007 series, topped the box office much of November.
Postseason pigskin
Boozman, by the way, played for the Razorbacks during the Nixon administration. Third District U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, another former Razorback, played during the Reagan-Bush era.
Shortly before returning to Arkansas, Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, said watching football would be a highlight of his vacation. "High school football," he stressed.
The former Fountain Lake High School valedictorian, like a lot of other Garland County residents, was rooting for the Fountain Lake Cobras to advance in the Class 4A state football playoffs. (They lost to Arkadelphia, 19-14.)
Westerman, a father of four, has three children attending Fountain Lake schools, just as he did.
In addition to cheering for the hometown football team, Westerman hoped to go to see his kids' basketball teams play. There's a Westerman on the roster of both the boys and the girls varsity basketball teams at Fountain Lake High School -- Ethan and Amie. And there's a third Westerman, Asa, playing middle school hoops. "My 17-year-old daughter's a point guard. And my 15-year-old's a point guard, and I guess my 13-year-old son's a point guard, too," the congressman noted.
Westerman's fourth child, Eli, attends Yale University, and this will be "the first time he's home since August, so he'll be there and we'll have a big time."
Metro on 11/27/2015