How is everyone on this fine summers night

[JohnKleeb]

I couldnt call the Guy James Show like I wanted to because I had to go somewhere. Nice night like always.

[Maddy McCall]

1. Weather is great here...hot and humid...south Mississippi

and I myself am happy and watching the Bill Maher show...pretty dawgone good, I might add.

Where are you?

[Aristus]

2. Hi John!

Home with the family and feeling fine! Have a cold one on me. Naw, it's near beer you fifteen year old, you. :beer:.

[JohnKleeb]

3. thanks arist

I turn 16 thursday. I am gonna be at DU that day because my party and stuff will be another day. I told Yawker to do it at 3 and she was cool because my bday is the only one on 7/24.

[Aristus]

5. In case I forget later, Happy Birthday.

16 was a nightmare for me. Hope yours is better. :party:

[JohnKleeb]

6. I hope it will thanks

[leftist_rebel1569]

4. I'm doin great!

really nice up here in Minnesota...awesome weather in summer, of course...

[scucci]

7. It's hot and humid like always....

and the neighbors are too loud. Damn kids! They're actually my age so I must be the "mentally" old fart here. hee

Anyway,
Happy early Birthday to you! I didn't realize you are so young! You seem like a very, very intelligent young man and I think you have a wonderful future in front of you. I just hope your late teens go better than mine did! ACK!
Just wishing you the best!
Love,
scucci

[havocmom]

8. Can't sleep; worried about the fire that is eating up neighbor's ranches

we are seriously in the boonies, so no tv or radio news, just a wall of smoke getting closer. But the wind changed and might be pushing the fire back. Hope so... all those folks out ther fighting it and not much to work with.

Heard some ranches lost a lot of grass. There is grain about to be harvested and timber. the road crews took all the county equipment, which would suggest they are either tearing up the range to make fire breaks or plowing roads for the few pump trucks brought in here.

Hope you have a great birthday... and a good year ahead of you.

Somebody, tell ol havocmom a story to make her calm and sleepy.

[Maddy McCall]

9. havocmom...please post this on its own thread...

because this is huge, and people need to see it. It doesn't need to be buried in this thread!

Post it in its own thread so that you can keep us updated. My thoughts and good wishes are with you!

((havocmom))

[havocmom]

12. thanks for the hug

problem is, not much info available... which is part of why I can't sleep. (Am not usually a night owl, but am very afraid of fire.) No way for me to get info, worried that if it gets bad, it could roar thru the country and take this little town. Afraid to sleep, cuz, well, just really afraid to sleep in case we need to leave.

Couple years back, a prairie fire busted loose and ravaged a small town not unlike this one. Not much left of the place.

Had a cousin die from fire injuries. Havocdad used to fight fires in summer when he was in college. Have heard a lot of stories. Am really worried about a young woman I work with who lives up in the Breaks where this is burning.

Am really having a rough night... no news, only smoke, worry and trucks rushing by the highway.

Glad you few night owls are out there. Is pretty lonely here. Most of the locals are probably up country helping. I'm a newbie in town and don't know what to do to help or get info on what's going on.

Now that it is dark, can't even make a guess as to how it is going based on the smoke.

[Maddy McCall]

14. I have Directv--is there any channel to which I can tune to keep

you updated? Are you able to find anything on the internet??

I am worried for you and your family--I know that must be terrifying.

Please keep us updated as you get info. I hope you will leave if the situation becomes worse.

Again, hugs, and I am thinking about you! :-) :-) :-)

[havocmom]

15. TV coverage? Here?

Thanks, jchild, you made me giggle!

This place was on TV once for a few days... Remember the "Freemen Standoff" with the FBI? It was before I came here, but sounds like it was interesting.

No, no media coverage. I have dish TV (157 channels and nada on) but there is nothing here to get ratings. I did go online to every radio station in the state, trying to see if anybody had an online feed of news. no luck. Can only get one radio station (sort of) via conventional method of using a radio. I mean ta tell ya, this is a Tiny Town in the middle of not much! ;-)

It cooled off enough to open windows and I have the good nose of the 90 pound hound here with me. Am sure he and the cat would alert if the fire started getting dangerously close to town. Am thinking it might be wise to bring the cat carrier up from the basement in case we have to leave in a hurry.

Power and phone lines come in from the east and fire is west of here, so not much chance of losing contact with the internet. DU is very often my link with sanity, and tonight that is true more than ever.

Gadzookz, hearing a lot of vehicles outside all the sudden. Wonder what the teeny boppers are up to. Think I'll stick my nose outside.

edit: da momma does lots of typos, especially at this hour!

[Maddy McCall]

16. Please keep in touch with us !

Keep us updated.

Glad I gave you a moment of levity! :-)

What's all the commotion you are hearing?

[havocmom]

17. Think a bunch of kids got back to town from being "up country"

There are a few elderly ranchers up in the Breaks around the fire area. Most everybody around here is related and I heard this evening that the one highway patrolman went to help his inlaws up there. They are also inlaws to the sheriff, who has a teenaged son. I think he and some pals just all blew back into town. Is settling down now.

Just wanted to make sure I was not missing some mass <<snicker>> migration outta town! Don't wanna be like Will Smith in IndependenceDay Going outside to get the paper while the neighbors are loading the cars and getting outta town!

[scucci]

10. OMG Is there anywhere you can go?!

[havocmom]

13. We are a long ways from anywhere

and there are several fires burning around here. Bad lightening the other evening. Humidity is finally creeping up to 40%; it was between 18% and 28% most of the day and evening. No chance of any rain.

We are about 3 hours drive from billings and a bit more than and hour to Miles City. Population in this town is about 350 with about 1300 in the county... not much of anything to go to.

About 200- 300 fire fighters were brought in Friday, and we sold almost every bottle of water and Gator-aide in the one store in town to the guys supplying the chow to the fire crews.

Missouri Breaks is a very rough area. Also worried about the paleontologist crew working up there under Jack Horner. Their camp is in rough counrty and nobody could get out fast if they had to.

Hey, you midwesterners, I know what that humidity is like in July... Give yourselves a break, and send some my way!

Saw lots of ripe wheat today when we went to Miles City for some supplies.

Amber waves of grain, indeed. Truly, America is beautiful! But gods have mercy, send some rains out west!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Waiting for my apartment to cool off

so I can go to sleep.

Apartments here are built on the assumption that it NEVER gets hot in the summer, or at least not for more than one week per summer.

Well, so far, we've had four, count 'em, four spells of 90+ weather.

At least my Minneapolis apartment will have air conditioning!