hey everyone, we survived the second week of school, zack is in 7th grade now, and savannah is in 2nd. i've already been to both back-to-school nights, and spoke with savannah's class this morning about her life-threatening allergy to nuts. there were many questions, mostly centered around 1) the epipen needle, and 2) dying. one boy asked repeatedly, what if you don't have the medicine? but we do have the medicine. what if you don't? but we do. but what if you don't? NEXT QUESTION. another little boy said what if he has an allergy and doesn't know it -- he doesn't have the medicine (repeat three times).

i really wasn't trying to freak them out, the reason we talked to them about her allergy was to educate them on how they can help by 1) not sharing food, 2) washing their hands before AND after eating, and 3) never teasing Savannah about her allergy or the epipen.

i can't imagine what their dinner conversations will be like tonight....

Looking for home for cat

My cat Sneaky is a 6 year old Pixie Bob. She is declawed and microchipped and up to date on her shots. She is really affectionate and talks a lot. I am having trouble because of my travel - she is so lonely. Is there anyone who would be willing to give her a home? Call me at 214-864-2947 if you can help out. She is fixed. Her coat is sort of spotted and she has a short tail.

Waiting For Gustav

Hello everyone,

It's Monday morning in Baton Rouge and I'm sitting in Cathie's house listening to the wind and rain from the leading edge of Hurricane Gustav, which is making landfall in south Louisiana as a Category 2 storm. The main worry this far inland is that we'll lose power as the wind starts downing tree limbs, so Cathie and I are plugging away on our laptops while we can.

I left New Orleans on Saturday night to avoid traffic (the city issued a mandatory evacuation order on Sunday morning) and arrived in Baton Rouge with no difficulties. Most New Orleanians were either on the road or finishing final preparations by that point, so most everyone I saw was packing their car or putting plywood over their windows. By way of contrast, preparations here in Baton Rouge seem pretty minimal - biking around Cathie's old neighborhood I didn't see a single house with boarded windows! Cathie's house is a mid-1930's Arts & Crafts bungalow and should be able to withstand the storm with no problems; hopefully the nearby trees will do the same.

So we're here working until the lights go out, and then we'll probably crack a book or two, open a bottle of wine and wait for the storm to blow over. We have plenty of supplies and are about as prepared as we can be. I'll probably try to get back to New Orleans in the next day or two - security there is very high (the LA National Guard is out in force) so I'm not worried about looters. I'll post an update if anything noteworthy happens.