Manatee Mayhem Part Deux

Master

9705

Raleigh, NC area

Subject: RE: Manatee Mayhem Part Deux - 2017 Edition

Originally posted by amd723

Originally posted by jmkizer

Originally posted by cdban66

Originally posted by jmkizer

Stay safe everyone! Chris and Hands, I hope the storm has lost some of its bluster by the time it get to you. Lisa and Robin, I hope that it's rains and winds don't affect you. Karen, I hope that this has no impact on your travels. Everyone, I hope that your family stays safe and sound.

Thanks, we've done what we can, shutters are up at multiple houses, yards are cleaned, etc. We have a small amount of stuff left on the to do list before she arrives, but there should be time tonight and Sat morning to get it done. I'm not happy with the most recent updates, but nothing to do now but wait.

Thanks as well to all of you that have been so kind as to open your homes to a guy you've never even met. I can't tell you how much it has meant to know you all care.

Janyne, I'll probably be counting on you to update folks for me, I'll try to update you as much as I can. BTW, is Kevin's dad ok?

Kevin's dad is a long story. Here goes:

Kevin had a fairly normal relationship with his family growing up. He is the youngest of three siblings -- by several years so maybe an afterthought. His family home neat South Bend, Indiana backed up to his grandmother's house. He spent a lot of time with grandma when he was growing up. He was the only sibling to attend college. He went to Purdue, against is parents wishes. He was able to score some scholarships to pay for part of his freshman year and that swayed them. He was also able to participate in IBM's (paid) internship program and then helped as well. When he graduated from Purdue, IBM offered him a job in the Raleigh area and I met him shortly thereafter.

While we were dating, he visited his family for holidays and so on. We dated for about a year, got married after a not to terribly long engagement and about six months later, his mom died suddenly. About six months after that, Kevin's dad married someone (Sandy) closer to our age than to his own age. Ever since then, the relationship has gotten more distant all the time. She had kids from her first marriage and they seem to be the priority. Kevin and I have been married more than 24 years (which means they have been married for over 23 years). They have visited us exactly once during that time. We were visiting them every other year until the last time when we went down to see them and when we got there, only his dad was there. She had gone to Michigan at the last minute to attend a junior high school volleyball tournament (not kidding) -- because there were college recruiters there. Really. We only found out about this after driving 12 hours to see them. And of course Kevin's dad was in a bad mood about the whole thing.

Basically, we hear from them for Christmas and Kevin's birthday. Last year, they called for his birthday and said, "The funniest thing happened! We sent your card to Kenny (his brother)!" Kevin was not amused. This year, he got a card with an all caps and underlines, "Stay in touch!" note. Kevin called immediately and got a generic voicemail message. Kevin looked up what number they called from last time they called and he used that one (we think FL landline?). He left messages on both numbers in July. We have not heard back. Stay in touch indeed!

Oh, they summer in Michigan (near Sandy's kids) but consider Florida their residence (but refer to "up north" as "home" so who knows really). We don't know if they are in Michigan or Florida now. They have another issue that Sandy's mom, who has zippo in retirement savings and basically lives with them, is probably in Florida even if they are not. When in Florida, they are in a condo in Englewood near Chris. They are on Placida Road near South McCall.

TL;DR We don't even know what state they are in or have their current phone number so no idea.

Ugh!

No kidding.

Kevin is out of town. I saw that their condo in Florida is in the mandatory evacuation zone. I called every single number that we've ever had for them and eventually got ahold of Sandy. They are in Michigan. Sandy is completely unconcerned about their place in Florida. Did someone put up shutters for you. "Oh, we don't do that. Supposedly the units passed a wind test." I said something else expressing concern and she replied, "The Indians settled there so it's safe. Charlie skipped right over us!" Okie dokie.

In other news, I was able to determined that Chris is NOT in an evacuation zone but the Englewood hospital is being evacuated and is suspending services at noon today. (for those who have not been following along, Chris lives in Englewood, FL as does Kevn's dad and his wife).

Manatee Mayhem Part Deux - 2017 Edition (Page 13)

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