#40: He simply makes me smile when I see him.

[playbiller]

Please take care all of our gulf buddies. If I were closer I would take you in, but I am a long, long car ride from there. It is a category 4 and growing and aiming at west of New Orleans. So eHP - take care as wel!

[Couch Tomato]

Whoo hoooo thanks Keepingfaith.

he looked so gorgeous!

[keepingfaith]

Someone didn't like Clay's hair at the Sedaka Tribute last year? Hey, just goes to show the subjectiveness of the eye and ear. I thought he looked as gorgeous as I'd ever seen him.

My memory is jogged that the day of that tribute, October 26, 2007, was exactly nine months and 12 days before the birth of Parker. I also recall someone saying that they saw Jaymes walking down the street in NY that weekend holding hands with a gentleman, and I snarked that maybe it was her cousin. However, in retrospect, maybe it was her gynecologist.

Poor quality from a screenshot, but I love it anyway ........

[aikim]

And most likely, he found out right around his Birthday last year that Parker was on the way...makes me schmoopie thinking about it.

Kim

[Scarlett]

Thanks for the pretty pictures, keepingfaith! Are you ok? I think you, Solo and desertrose are the closest to the Gulf. I think Solo's the closest to the actual path.

txflwrgrl, are you close to the Gulf too?

It's 5:34 am here and we're packing and doing some last minute checks before leaving for the airport for our 10:25 am flight home. Didn't get to write this about the flight over but we passed over or close to Wuhan, Beijing, Ulan Bataar, parts of Russia (I was asleep so didn't note the cities), the Arctic region and then Norway, Greenland and Canada to Newark. Looked neat on the monitors.

Please take care all of our gulf buddies. If I were closer I would take you in, but I am a long, long car ride from there. It is a category 4 and growing and aiming at west of New Orleans. So eHP - take care as wel!

Playbiller, thanks and don't be too sure. We're leaving early enough to get home before the storm hits land but in case things speed up then KAndre and I might end up getting stranded in Newark airport again, eeeep(!)

ETA:

And most likely, he found out right around his Birthday last year that Parker was on the way...makes me schmoopie thinking about it.

Oh, that would have been a great birthday gift!

[playbiller]

Well, if you are stranded at the airport, come to the beach with me, I am leaving tomorrow night. Surely another week off is nothing to world travlers, a nice labor day weekend at the beach should be fun. The water is warm, the life guards are here for the last week and the restaurants will all be open. And everyone speaks English - should make it easier to get around. As long as I don't have to start back before Tuesday - that is when the rebuilder is coming to get paid for what he did so far and discuss the new counters. After that, I can bring you back - no bathing suit? They are all on sale!

[Scarlett]

Well, if you are stranded at the airport, come to the beach with me, I am leaving tomorrow night. Surely another week off is nothing to world travlers, a nice labor day weekend at the beach should be fun. The water is warm, the life guards are here for the last week and the restaurants will all be open. And everyone speaks English - should make it easier to get around. As long as I don't have to start back before Tuesday - that is when the rebuilder is coming to get paid for what he did so far and discuss the new counters. After that, I can bring you back - no bathing suit? They are all on sale!

Oh, I wish!!! Is it wrong to hope for somewhat bad weather in Houston where no one gets injured but the planes still can't land? This is probably the only weekend I can make it to the beach. The ocean's my Tara. I can't go on opening weekend because I'll only be able to fly in on Friday afternoon. I hope that's ok with you? Yes, I'll need a bathing suit if this weekend happens & it's great they're on sale!

BTW, play, thanks v. much for taking me around the country/farm store and the boardwalk and the nice seafood dinner on the Sinatra tribute weekend last year. Really appreciated that! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[txflwrgrl]

txflwrgrl, are you close to the Gulf too?

Scarlett - No, I'm in the north central part of Texas about 25 miles from Oklahoma. I do hope everyone close to the gulf area will be safe.

Hope you have a safe trip home! I love reading about your travels and the many adventures you and KAndre have had. You two are a blast! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

And all I have left to say is.......

:013085001176249046:

[KAndre]

I'm listening to Clay sing "Kyrie" and "I Survived You" while overlooking Hong Kong harbor. It's the perfect time to go - I wouldn't mind staying longer but am ready to go home. This was a great trip. I'll tell y'all more on the back end. Later!

[keepingfaith]

Hey there, Scarlett!! Yes, I'm ok. I'm more than ok, way more than ok. Then there's Gustav, and so far I'm refusing to freak about it, and hope it goes through one of those UNinhabited areas around the Gulf Coast. Right now they are forecasting the eye from High Island to Mobile. That would put our Solo in harm's way. Hugs for all of us.

When I take time, and am in the right state of mind, I have a lot to write in the political thread. But for a hint, I've watched the Obama speech on C-Span over three times from the biographical film at the beginning on through to the end of the music and fireworks, and I can't get through it without big tears and a box of tissues. It puts me way past verklempt.

txflwrgrl, my dad grew up in northeast Texas on land that went to the Red River, north of Bonham, and then he lived in Paris when he was a teenager. There's beautiful country in North Texas.

Here's the Fannin County Courthouse in Bonham (home of Speaker Sam Rayburn):

My dad showing me where he played ball as a kid, next to his school.

It was called "Liberty School" and he's in this picture as a four or five year old because he had to go to school everyday to help his older disabled brother:

Where my great-great grandfather's house once stood. He came from Ireland and settled this land:

I love it up there. My mother is from Deep East Texas and it's even more beautiful country, dramatically beautiful, but a completely different way of life.

[Bella19]

Scarlett and KAndre - Safe travels!

I hope everyone in the gulf area stays safe over the next few days. I think I can live with massive snowfalls much more than the threat of hurricanes.

keepingfaith - Love all the pretties you've been posting. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

FromClaygary - Hey, I see you down there! How'd you like Bar Harbor? My daughter and I were there four years ago, during a cruise trip - thought it was adorable and a lot like a Maritime Niagara-on-the-Lake. I also thought of you this weekend, when I was in a Michael's in Amherst, NY. All those pretty beads for sale!

DD and I got back yesterday from a three-day outlet mall trip to Niagara Falls, NY and the surrounding area. We haven't travelled together in years and it turned out to be a great trip. The only hard part was 1.5 hours to get across the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge on Wed. at lunch! Getting home was so easy, but anyone travelling south was going to have a long wait. It was three solid lanes of crawling cars as we zipped past them home. Apparently the Cdn border guards are working to rule right now since they don't have a new job contract, so getting back in took all of 10 minutes - he didn't even want to see our passports.

For anyone in Canada, who doesn't have Spam tickets to NY yet, here's a contest with a Clay mention on the intro page - the qualifier is interesting too. It asks for your favourite Python quote:

http://www.contestcanada.net/2008/08/29/ctv-15/

And of course I'm going to apply every day...

[Solo]

Hey y'all! Just checking in quickly to let everyone know I'm on my way out of Dodge. Our county has a mandatory evacuation starting tomorrow morning but I've convinced my family we might as well leave tonight. It doesn't look like Gustav will hit us directly but better safe than sorry.

[Couch Tomato]

Solo thanks for checking in. Be safe!! Grab your clack collection hee.

ETA we've had a few new members lately. They're checking in! But I'm sure we all use View New Posts and are rushing over to welcome them, right?

ETAA: what the hell is wrong with my computer. It's like it's in safe mode or something...I can't even post an emoticon to let ya'll know I'm teasing you. This is what I get for letting the kids play on my computer all week. Maybe if I shut down all my wonderful settings will come right back.

[merrieeee]

Be safe Solo!!

It's going to get scary out there. I hope it doesn't hit Houston but then that means it will hit somewhere else!!

keepingfaith glad you are OK.

playbiller I want to be at the beach with you! To me going to the sea is like coming home! I just feel at peace there.

[annabear]

we've had a few new members lately. They're checking in! But I'm sure we all use View New Posts and are rushing over to welcome them, right?

:26:

Busy weekend with school work, house hunting and company! Not caught up from the end of the last thread yet, but checking in quickly to see what's happening.

Safe travels back to the US, Scarlett & KAndre. Can't wait to hear more about your trip! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

Sending out safe vibes to all in the Gulf Coast area.

[keepingfaith]

There may not be peace at the beach around here for a few days. I've been through two hurricanes, Carla and Alicia. Both of them tore up the area where I now live, and Carla completely destroyed Kemah and Seabrook, so if it's coming this way, merrieeee may be seeing lots of me in her future.

Solo, I'm so glad you're going tonight. I was in the 18-hour hell drive to Dallas during Rita and it's one of the worst experiences of my life. It was a scene out of the Great Depression happening in front of my eyes -- all night and all day in 105 degree heat and nobody could use air conditioning because there was no gas to buy, and no way off of I-45 if there had been. As a result, my dad refuses to ever evacuate again - the worst case result of such a mismanaged and chaotic evacuation. I'll never forget how that looked and felt with people and animals desperate for food and water, and that tragic bus fire outside of Red Oak.

[wandacleo]

Welcome new members!!!!!! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[jamar1700]

Hee. Wanda said members...

----

Welcome to all who are new to FCA.

don't let these chicks scare ya ---->

[FromClaygary]

FromClaygary - Hey, I see you down there! How'd you like Bar Harbor? My daughter and I were there four years ago, during a cruise trip - thought it was adorable and a lot like a Maritime Niagara-on-the-Lake. I also thought of you this weekend, when I was in a Michael's in Amherst, NY. All those pretty beads for sale!

DD and I got back yesterday from a three-day outlet mall trip to Niagara Falls, NY and the surrounding area. We haven't travelled together in years and it turned out to be a great trip. The only hard part was 1.5 hours to get across the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge on Wed. at lunch! Getting home was so easy, but anyone travelling south was going to have a long wait. It was three solid lanes of crawling cars as we zipped past them home. Apparently the Cdn border guards are working to rule right now since they don't have a new job contract, so getting back in took all of 10 minutes - he didn't even want to see our passports.

For anyone in Canada, who doesn't have Spam tickets to NY yet, here's a contest with a Clay mention on the intro page - the qualifier is interesting too. It asks for your favourite Python quote:

http://www.contestcanada.net/2008/08/29/ctv-15/

And of course I'm going to apply every day...

Just got back from supper, I was here in spirit only....I LOVED Bar Harbor! Except for the fact that most of the residents of NY, NJ, DE, MA and ME had the same idea...so it was a zoo! Or maybe that's the way it always is, I'm not sure! I lucked into a parking spot right on the wharf and had a great walk around the pathway at the ocean's edge for about a mile and a half or so, took lots of pictures. Then I walked up into town and did both sides of the first few blocks or so up from the harbor (whew! what a climb). Treated myself to a blueberry soft ice cream (yummm...) while I sat and watched the world (literally) go by and did a quick go-round of the craft display they were having on the village green. It was fun! I wanted to go into Acadia Park, but by that time it was too late to be walking around on forest trails. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, couldn't have been better weatherwise.

Now I'm back in Bangor for tonight~and back to Moncton tomorrow (waaahhh!!). I hope you're right about the border guards. I'm a leeetle over my limit.... :lmaosmiley-1: Ah well. I've paid before.

Thanks for the contest link!!

Hey y'all! Just checking in quickly to let everyone know I'm on my way out of Dodge. Our county has a mandatory evacuation starting tomorrow morning but I've convinced my family we might as well leave tonight. It doesn't look like Gustav will hit us directly but better safe than sorry.

Solo, I've probably missed you~but to you and all the others in the area....we'll be thinking good thoughts for you!

ETA: Sorry for the really dumb question, but never having been involved...where do you evacuate TO?? Do they set up shelters and you have to live there for X period of time? Or do you have friends/relatives you can go to?

[Gibby]

Hey y'all! Just checking in quickly to let everyone know I'm on my way out of Dodge. Our county has a mandatory evacuation starting tomorrow morning but I've convinced my family we might as well leave tonight. It doesn't look like Gustav will hit us directly but better safe than sorry.

Be safe, Solo! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

And I'll echo Wanda -

Welcome, new members!

[Desertrose]

KF,

I was caught in that mess too. It took us thirteen hours to get as far as the Woodlands, then we were stranded, no gas, no food, no water. It was a horrible, horrible experience. Normally it takes 45 minutes to get to the Woodlands from Clear Lake. We were heading for Dallas, and so was most of Houston. I agree with your dad. I will not evacuate again. However, if I could make it to the woodlands we could have fun at Merrieeee's since she lives in the Woodlands and that is as far as I got last time.

Merrieeee,

Do you have room for one more? In case I panic and evacuate again. Just kidding. I am so glad that Solo and her family are on their way to safety. I do not want Gustav to visit Houston, but in a way, I think it would be better for Houston to take the hit than New Orleans. Those people have suffered enough from Katrina. From what I hear, they are not even sure that the levees will hold even though they claim to have fixed them. If the storm remains a category 4 or gets stronger, I do not know if New Orleans can take that hit. We do not have levees in Houston, so that is one less thing to worry about. We are also not below sea level even though we are pretty low.

Best thing is to pray that the storm fizzles out and looses strength before it hits any of our shores. It happened with Rita which was coming in as a category 5. I saw where Scarlett mentioned those of us that were near the water so I decided to check in to let her know that I am ok.

[Desertrose]

Claygary,

Most people try to go to friends or family members in locations that are not in the Hurricane area. For people who have no place to go or no way to evacuate, the City of Houston has a number one can call and they will pick you up and take you to a shelter that has been set up beforehand where you can stay until it is safe to go back home. Only thing is that these people have to go to wherever they are taken. They can not choose where they want to go. The mayor of Houston is a really good man, and he has tried to set up a network to help those who need help. After Katrina, we had most of the evacuees in Houston because he sent buses to go and bring them to the Astrodome and other shelters.

[FromClaygary]

Claygary,

Most people try to go to friends or family members in locations that are not in the Hurricane area. For people who have no place to go or no way to evacuate, the City of Houston has a number one can call and they will pick you up and take you to a shelter that has been set up beforehand where you can stay until it is safe to go back home. Only thing is that these people have to go to wherever they are taken. They can not choose where they want to go. The mayor of Houston is a really good man, and he has tried to set up a network to help those who need help. After Katrina, we had most of the evacuees in Houston because he sent buses to go and bring them to the Astrodome and other shelters.

Thanks, desertrose....wow, that could be tough! I remember all the evacuees being in Houston and other cities, and families getting split up in the furor. Living in those circumstances for however long would be a nightmare, but obviously better than getting caught in the storm. I'm sure there's lots of people who don't HAVE a place to go out of the hazardous areas.

[Ansamcw]

Good luck and Stay safe to peoplein the way of the storm.

GoodLuck on your trip home Scarlett and Kandre...

Welcome Newbies!!!!

[HippoGA]

Adding my concerns for our members in the gulf area. I also hope that the storm's intensity will weaken before it makes landfall.

Thanks for the "welcomes"!

...and love this hair!