I listened to a friend who called to say he had to leave his home and possessions behind, taking only his cat and bird with a few clothes in order to be safe from a vicious, psycho brother who is about to get in deep doo-doo for pedophilia. Between our daughter, Rog and me, we called him back to 1) make sure he'd made it safely out and 2) to tell him we were wiring him some money to help him get from AL to OR, by way of our house in CO. Our only concern is if he will be able to find a motel room each night, as there as so many flood victims spread out along the route he is taking. We haven't seen him since 1985, so we're pretty excited AND relieved that he is out of a very bad situation!

Great thread, gnu. Loved your story!