Aw man. I typed out this whole long thing about Hurricane Ivan and I lost it somehow. My parents should be preparing to sit this bad boy out right about now. They live in the western panhandle of Florida. I can imagine it all now since I've gone through it quite a few times. My dad will be picking up all the clutter outside that will become projectiles once the wind picks up. That is, unless he's at work picking stuff up off the floors and lower shelves since they flood everytime it rains. My grandmother will either drive to my parents' house or my mother will go pick her up. She'll have everything of importance with her. They'll hang out in the living room/kitchen until the weather starts getting really bad and then they'll camp out in the hallway with all the doors closed. They'll have the radio plugged in listening to people call in and tell how bad it is at their house. It was always neat to listen to what was going on it other parts of the county. They'll do this until the electricity goes out, and it will go out. I can't remember a time when it didn't go out during a hurricane. They should have plenty of batteries to put in the radio so they can hear the updates and to put in the battery-operated TV to get the ocassional pictoral update. They'll munch on non-perishable snack foods until the worst is over. They should still be able to cook since the stove is gas. If not, then they'll still have the gas grill for cooking until the electricity comes back on. (Whenever that may be-they're predicting longer than just a few days since crews are still working elsewhere in Florida). Anyway, I feel that my parents will be relatively safe in their cinder block house. The only thing I'm slightly concerned about are the two or three huge oak trees in their yard and the neighbor's yards. I'm praying that they stay put. I'm sure I won't rest easy until I know they are okay and after we get through whatever will be left of Ivan.