Helene

[Frank B.]

When you have interests in areas that are often affected, the first thing you do every morning from June to November is bring up NOAA Hurricane and look for the little X's then follow them to their ultimate finish.  Helene very close to Mexico Beach, currently tracking to have MB be on the "pull" side so maybe ok,  Not goiing to affect my family members in OS or Riley thankfully.  Hope it doesn't track too much further East to drop it into Charles' world. One can only watch and wait and let the drama play out.  Oh and Captain Kidd, watch out for the potential for flooding.

Stay safe out there.

[Doug SC]

Having grown up in Florida with a WW2 pilot for a father, I learned at a young age how to track a storm on those paper hurricane maps. Now I use the My Radar and Windy apps as well as looking at the forecasted tracking models and satellite views. They have been predicting this potential outcome before it become an organized storm.

When Dad was 3 and the Miami hurricane of 1926 came ashore blowing most of the houses on his street down and flooding the area, their warning that day was the darkening skies and the radio reports of ships offshore. Times have really changed during his almost 101 years on this earth.

[Ed]

We are leaving North Georgia very early Friday morning for the drive to southern Indiana for my 50th High School Reunion, and it looks like we'll be in rain all the way.  I am supposed to run a small golf tournament at noon on Friday, now talking about switching to 10am on Saturday, but either way it's going to be a wet one.  On the bright side we have not had rain in weeks and they have started dumping water from Lake Allatoona, down 5ft so far. I did get the garden rototilled just in time.

[Riley Smith]

It's perfect here, although still hot at 80F @ 10am. Yes, the NHC and GOES East is my first stop every morning. This one appears to be the real deal.  It's much more concentric this morning. Forecast is for winds to pick up here from the north as it gets closer and sucks air toward it, but the temperature is supposed to go down and that'll be a big relief. It's times like this that I am so thankful that my boat fits inside my shop and that's one thing I don't have to deal with. I remember a storm sorta like this a few years ago. Turned into the worst camping outing I've ever had. From experience you can't trust a forecast with a hurricane on the loose. I'm fine unless the thing doesn't turn. Stranger things have happened. Watching closely.

[Captain Kidd]

We are leaving North Georgia very early Friday morning for the drive to southern Indiana for my 50th High School Reunion, and it looks like we'll be in rain all the way.  I am supposed to run a small golf tournament at noon on Friday, now talking about switching to 10am on Saturday, but either way it's going to be a wet one.  On the bright side we have not had rain in weeks and they have started dumping water from Lake Allatoona, down 5ft so far. I did get the garden rototilled just in time.

Funny, this year marks our 50 anniversary of HS graduation though no reunion that I've heard of (we did have a 30th), and we're leaving N. GA Friday morning headed to S Indiana. Our 38 y.o. daughter lives in Bargersville just south of Indianapolis. She's running in her first marathon Saturday morning in Columbus, IN. I promised her I'd be there to cheer her on. She and a friend have been training for at least a year if not longer. They don't run for speed but to finish. Still a great accomplishment. They've done as much as 22 miles in training but have tapered off per training strategy in these last 3 weeks leading up to the race. At their pace, will take close to 5 hours. Five hours at any pace would kill me!!

Yep, I'm expecting a wet ride but they really don't want to run in the rain.

[Frank B.]

As a long term runner with the epitome event qualifying for and running Boston in 2012, I can offer some advice.  Running to finish and for fun is best.  If they have done 22 they are ready, the excitement of the day will get them the other four miles.  Just don't let that excitement entice them to go out too fast.  Never works, I know, have done it.

My wife and I would be having our 60th HS reunion this year and seems that it won't happen, maybe no one to organize it.  The class has a FB page but in recent years it is mostly used to announce who has passed away. 

[Captain Kidd]

As a long term runner with the epitome event qualifying for and running Boston in 2012, I can offer some advice.  Running to finish and for fun is best.  If they have done 22 they are ready, the excitement of the day will get them the other four miles.  Just don't let that excitement entice them to go out too fast.  Never works, I know, have done it.

My wife and I would be having our 60th HS reunion this year and seems that it won't happen, maybe no one to organize it.  The class has a FB page but in recent years it is mostly used to announce who has passed away. 

Impressive!!!! and thanks for the tips.

This is actually a Boston qualifier though that is not their intention. They are, however, registered to run the Disney marathon in Orlando in January.

My daughter has done her due diligence in preparation and is following a regimen that I'm sure she's picked up from runners and research: so many miles a week, short distance, mid-distance and the occasional long run of around 20, proper diet prep and on-course nutrition and hydration. They participated in a half-marathon, the Indy Mini, back in May. It finished on the Indianapolis Speedway. They loved it!. She and her friend are ready.

You cannot view this attachment.

My daughter is in the foreground and her friend in the pink. This was taken at the finish line.

[rfrance0718]

I ran one. 2008 in Cincinnati.  It was early May but the weather thought that it was July. It was 90 degrees for the last 6 miles.I'd prefer rain.

[Norm L.]

Just back from my 65th reunion in Lorain. Twenty-four there out of 300+

I do follow NOAA wherever the storm is between Cabo Verde and Mexico. I read each discussion as they give more direct and accurate wording than your local TV. They have to warn everyone in their broadcast area the same.

But Francine's easing more east and falling apart into a monster rain event caught them. The eye passed over us if there had been an eye. This supposed to be eye was full of tears, about 8" in the back yard gauge.

All of you over there will be in my mind. We all understand. Frank, I was worried about you even on the edge.

[Wayne Howard]

Just drove in to Pensacola from central Texas to haul the boat for Helene. About 3 hours from P-cola, the marina calls us and cancels the hurricane haul out. Well, shoot. At least it's not like Sally who took a turn way too late for us to get the boat out of the water.

OK, the bottom paint needs to be redone so we came on in. Now scheduled for a Friday morning haul to get the bottom paint redone. And that might take a while.  Connie's last boss had a quote for any work that he had to do. "Work can be good, fast or cheap. Pick only two." It's a boat so I can throw cheap out the porthole right away.

[Norm L.]

for decades I've told customers with commercial equipment, you can spend time or money. Cheap and fast is going to end up being expensive. 

[Noemi - Ensenada 20]

but they really don't want to run in the rain.

When I was running, I preferred running in the rain.  But probably wouldn't have wanted to do that for 26 miles!

[Noemi - Ensenada 20]

I went to my 50th HS reunion a few weeks ago.  It was nice to see some old friends.  I recognized way more of the women than the men.

[Krusen]

Reunions get sparse as we get older.  Class of 1952.

We  have not had a conventional reunion in over a decade, and the last "sorta reunion" was a combined one for the classes of 1950 to 1960.

There were about 24 there, most the later years.  I was the only '52, and the only one older snuck in under the decade specified, class of '48.  He found no one that he had known, neither did I, and we had an interesting visit.

I know one member of my class, who is local, but he had an important doctors appointment that prevented his attendance.  Three quarters of my class departed the Washington DC area when they graduated, for employment, so most who are still living are far away.

[Riley Smith]

My wife and I attended my 50th reunion that I wasn't going to attend but was convinced by my bud who bought tickets and couldn't go, so I went on his dime. I pretty much hated high school but there were some friends that I enjoyed seeing. However, we took a class picture and I was really proud of myself. I was the ONLY one without gray/white hair. WIN!!!!