Statia-The organization is Therapy Dogs International. If your pooch knows basic commands, you can get certified.
http://www.tdi-dog.org. My dd wants a JRT.

Stay safe everyone!

OO, I am in awe of all of you giving people who are out there working in the heat and anxiety trying to help others. I feel like a worm, sitting here in my still standing all in one piece home whining..Next time I feel a whine coming on, I will think of you and Croque Madame and all those who do so much good.

The lady in our area with the Therapy Dogs belonged to Delta. I think you can Google it, probably will see her dog, he was their poster boy ((&)).

We had a gas scare here, they said on the radio that there would be rationing and it would start at 4:00 in the afternoon. We had just (by chance) stopped at the gas station when my daughter called to tell me..my husband asked the gas station owner and he said that it was a hoax and due to the "Palm Beach effect"...people are afraid to be stuck without gas..causing the long lines when a storm is forecast.
Let us all hope that this hurricane season ends soon.

And regarding God being a part of this thread, my opinion is that some people find that God is in some way or another a part of their lives all the time, so the name is mentioned now and then. But hardly causing the need for a separation of Fodors and Religion.
According to some, A Trip to Hell is also in the future and that would also probably offend those wishing a separation of Fodors and the Devil.
:)

Thanks for the info, buckeyemom.

OO, it sounds like you are wearing yourself out, girl! I agree that you and Croque Madame are an inspiration to us all.

OO--you are like the energizer bunny!!!

The McDonald's down the street ran out of food this afternoon--what's up with that? Don't tell me people have started stock-piling McDonal's food. Goodness knows it seems everyone has gone in to the "if there's more than one of it, whatever IT is, grab it and hoard it".

I turned off my TV at 6 am and don't intend to turn it back on until I've returned home from the wedding reception this evening which includes an open bar.

ELLENGRISWOLD-- :D

--My address book ate your email address--please send me something so that I can get you back in my system!

This up and down thing is killing me. It is 4 PM and they just announced that in the past hour sustained winds were at 165 and gusts to 200. Gasp! Full new advisory due at 5 PM. They keep saying it looks like it is going further and further west, but that's what they said two days before Charlie!

I see no need to separate Fodor's and religion. For those of us who DO pray and DO have a strong faith, it is just as offensive to be told we shouldn't extend our thoughts and prayers to all of the unfortunate people who've been devastated this hurricane season as it is to those who don't to be told they SHOULD offer a prayer. That said, let's focus on the real issue at hand, which is each doing what we can to help our fellow man right now. Amen!

Is Fodor's a Travel Site? Did I miss something?

Patrick, I hear you. Do you have the plywood up? We did it, and it is very tomb like....what a view.....plywood is the new designer chic in Fla, yes?

We have a three story townhouse. Second and third floors are both sets of 6 foot wide sliding doors to balconies. No way to put up plywood on the outside and get back in -- especially since the two on the second floor are screened porches. And the third floor would require a 30 plus foot ladder to get down to the outside.
So no, no plywood.
All doors have solar film which should prevent shattering of glass. Plantation shutters on the inside.
Of course if we get hit head on by a category 5, the plywood and everything else is a joke anyway.
Our biggest concern here is always a storm surge from the bay right across the street.
Mr. Dewars and I are becoming especially good friends this weekend.

Ah, but the 5 PM report does put the storm further west once again.

annie, Since you have only been posting since July, you might not have noticed yet, that many people mention God and Buddha and the Devil .
If you want to talk strictly about travel, Yes, this is a travel site, then go ahead and knock yourself out.
Friendly Advice here :
Try not to rush in with too many objections to the way other posters post .. it is not an endearing quality.

Couldn't have said it better myself Scarlett!!
Thanks.........

Annie - this is a travel board but there is a tight clique of people here who like to tell others how to post.They will shun you if don't follow their rules and agree with them. Sticking to travel answers is your best bet. I really do not care. If you are sensitive it will be a problem for you. A high school class with the popular group is what this board can be compared to. Silly to me.

leelani, you must have failed at the cheerleader tryouts to consistently complain like this.
What is a good Fodorite for if not giving much needed advice?

Just read this on stormcarib.com reports:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2004 10:51:48 -0400
From: henrique AT cwjamaica.com
Subject: RE: Ivan jamaica


Somehow we survived and lived through a night of extreme terror.

We went through a day and night of unimaginable fury of nature, words
fail me to describe the experience.
The sounds were as if a jumbo jet takes of and passes 10 m above your
roof.
Because of the slowing forward moving of Ivan we were pounded at 150
miles p.h. for many, many hours more than predicted last night.

Damage is unbelievable.

Shelters are filled with thousands of people, they are running out of
food and the radio stations appeal to citizens as soon as the storm has
passed to donate food to the shelters.
That will not be before this evening.

Somehow phone lines and internet systems have held up.

"Big up" C&W of Jamaica and Digicel.
They can certainly advertise their equipment as hurricane safe.

Right now we don't know if there were casualties as the entire island is
inundated, all roads are blocked, bridges have come down, big areas are
flooded and mud slides are covering large areas.

Some shelters could not stand up to the winds and people had to be
relocated in the height of the storm.
How that was done I don't know as you cannot walk in 150 miles of storm.

Hospitals were damaged and patients had to be relocated in Mobay
Cornwall and Kingston KPH and Jubilee.

The Prime Minister declared Jamaica a national disaster and implemented
a Public Emergency, restricting freedom of movement and assembly.
This is done to protect the citizens from looting.
We are thankful for that as we feel a lot safer this way.

Looting is going on right now but the police is very, very vigilant and
adopts a no nonsense approach, we are thankful for that.

In the height of the storm several heavily armed gangs of criminals were
engaging the security forces in gun battles in Kingston, endangering the
security forces' lives.

The security forces along with the Government agencies did a magnificent
job.

Some areas are simply flattened, the Community of Windsor has not one
roof left, including the church which served as a shelter, people have
nowhere to go and the winds and rain are pounding on.
Almantown in Kingston is flat.

The roads all over the island are inundated, bridges destroyed.
Communities cannot be reached.
Banana plantations are flat, for that matter our "food basket" in
general is destroyed.

Our hearts go out to Cayman and Florida.

Please consider Ivan as the most dangerous storm you can imagine.
Double check your preparations, you will need it.
One word of advice: when people start to feel the terror and fear for
their lives as we have last night, psychology comes into play.
Hold the children tight as they may be scared beyond belief.
Also tempers can flare out of fear, prayers helped us to cope and stay
half way calm and stay together as a group.

By tomorrow we will know more about the damage but I fear it will
resemble Grenada.


Barbara Henriques

OK, I've given up on the upholstery and am going to take the patio furniture cushions in to a professional. That way I can spend more time on Fodors! And on other things more interesting than plywood.

Don't tell Ivan but I'm feeling very good about him as he heads westward, westward, westward. Maybe he will spin himself into oblivion.

Sorry to follow that horrible report from Jamaica. Surely the islands are ill-equipped to handle such a blow. I hope they receive the help they need as they will be looking for lots of it. What a mess that will be.

Ivan, stay away.

The Energizer Bunny just woke up from her nap and is about to have a drink! :) I'm no hero Bunny, though. I had a nice little airconditioned desk with all the comforts of home except you all. Plus I had two phones that would ring simultaneously...except it wasn't my buddies on the other end, but mostly problems. Food was donated, including desert. Given enough time, I easily could have loaded on 25 HDL ladden pounds.:) This is something I've decided to do, however (not the pounds)--I'll start classes at our local chapter as soon as they are available. One of their classifications is family service caseworker, and in a former life many moons ago, pre marriage and children, that's what I was. It'd be great to get back into it, as that was a job I really loved, and the volunteer aspect is fine with me.

For any others interested, from the little I know, after the courses you make yourself available by the month and if you are called...and it can be anywhere in the US, including the territories (Guam included), you will be called for a 3 week service period. For each disaster (I was working Hurricane Charely), there is a local HQ, in this case Sarasota, and those in the field were in Punta Gorda, Ft Myers, Wachula, and Arcadia. Some of those accomodations are pretty primitive I would think and dinner might be Steak and Shake if you are lucky. Red Cross negotiates a rate with the hotel and it's not much. At one point in Charley it was any port in a storm and our hotel was being used at a negotiated rate of $75, but they shoot for $40...which gives you Days Inn, and a bit above. You get lunch and $30 a day for your other expenses: dinner, tips for food and maids etc. Travel expenses to and from are paid of course. I don't think any of the people here will ever get to see our beautiful beaches though...unless it's at 9 PM. Frances' HQ is Orlando, with volunteers spaced around the hardest hit areas of the east coast.

One of the women I was speaking with does 5 or 6 of these a year...she did 9-11, DC and NY, fires in CA, earthquake in CA,and hurricanes. Her husband, recently retired, decided to join just so he'll be able to spend some time with her...and he was having a ball with it.

Y'all come!

That track seems to be inching west..thank heavens...yes! Just read the Jamaica report as I previewed this reply. Horrible...it's hard to imagine the destruction, and the violence now compounds the horror a hundred fold.

Annieskes2002, it's such a simple thought and in the greater scheme of things as we see them so clearly now, if only through reading the Jamaica report, hardly worth bothering yourself with, is it? There are far more worthy issues. I'm not a terribly religious person either, but for crying out loud...live and let live. What skin is that off your back?

The news says Ivan is still a Catagory 5 at 165 mph winds. BUT, it seems to be planning on skipping a visit to our poor beleagured friends in Naples,Tampa, Punta Gorda, Treasure Island and elsewhere (sorry, I cannot name every one :)
Now we have to Wish this damn thing away from the Panhandle!!

No such luck,I finally reached my Aunt (who lives in Destin. All her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren had been gathered at the one brick house in the family on the Panhandle which was a little inland.

Now it seems Ivan has aimed himself right at them, and they are all on their way to Alabama to wait it out. They've been there for generations, though many storms, and never done that before. Time to pray for y'all again!