[at-l] Missing Ivan

[Bluetrail at aol.com (Bluetrail@aol.com)]

Having had tickets for 3 months, friend Jon and I are flying to Phoenix Saturday.  Will do a big loop of national parks, including staying with a Grand Canyon fire technician who stayed at my unofficial FT hostel last year while he was thru-hiking the FT. 

My 18-year-old son Greg will be staying at his father's, about 15 minutes from my house.  In an effort to save $300 in boarding for the two cats and $100 or so in airport parking, Greg will drive us to the airport and check in at home each day to take care of the cats (and give them some attention).  I gave the neighbors his father's phone number just in case Greg decides (against all warnings) to turn the house into a party palace.  He gets $100 IF the house is clean and neat and the cats are well and there are no "incidents."  

Despite the pull of 16 days in all those national and state parks, I'm not sleeping for worry about Greg during Ivan, and, to a lesser degree, what will happen to the house.  Yesterday's torrential rain has left standing water in the backyard again.  I estimate the water table is about 4 inches below the surface of the yard.  

Good luck to whoever gets Ivan.  And please send good thoughts about Greg's first forray into home responsbility.  (The only hope is that at his Publix grocery job he has a sterling reputation for dependability.)  

I'll be signing off at-l so I don't arrive back to too much e-mail.  You all play nice.  Maybe we could use the at-l hot air to blow Ivan into the open Atlantic?

Joan
bluetrail@aol.com