Dear FMLers,

There is nothing I love more than the opportunity to reverse the tables
and host those who have so long hosted me in the past. I rarely have
the opportunity, either because I am frequently away from home or
because many of my friends do not travel to my neck of the woods.

Two extremely special friends from the Netherlands will be visiting the
US in just over a week (June 12) and will stay until July 3. A rough
itinerary of their holiday trip includes driving from LA to San Diego,
a visit to the Wild Animal Park (and perhaps Balboa Park, Old Town,
and a cruse to see dolphins), through El Cajon and over Julian and
Mt. Laguna to Anza Borrego, past the Salton Sea and up to Joshua Tree
National Monument, to Death Valley, to Mono Lake, up the big cliffy
hill to Yosemite's backdoor and down to the valley, through Santa
Clara county to the coast, to San Francisco, to the Grand Canyon, back
through Zion to Las Vegas, and a return to LA to fly home. Parts may be
cut out at their whim, as time requires, as a desire to linger in one
area demands, or simply because I am remembering the itinerary wrong.
Much of the time will be camping and a lesser part at motels. They want
to explore "European Style"; that is, camp in one locale and quietly
explore the area before moving on. This is as opposed to "Bob Style",
which is to try to get 30 days of exploration stuffed into 10. Hey, if
others can't do it, I understand. ;-)

Because my friends are clearly nuts, I was invited to accompany them on
the trip. They have hosted me in Holland numerous times, even making
contributions to the Ferret Project when my Eurail ticket, travel cash,
ipod, and professional camera gear were stolen last year. They fretted
over my health, plying me with fruit juices and health aids. They tried
to insure I would get enough sleep, even though it was impossible to
enforce. They gave me fruit. They cooked Dutch food for me. They took
me out on a big giant dike and didn't abandon me when I couldn't
resist the obvious puns. They gave me generous portions of single malt
whiskey. They encouraged me to play with their ferrets. They worried
over my lack of "Train Departure Anxiety" and would download timetables
for me -- lots of timetables. They gave me a key to their house. They
never laughed if I dozed off in the middle of a sentence. They are
wonderful people and I care for them deeply. The debt of gratitude I
owe them cannot be repaid because it is immeasurable.

Ok, as long-time FML readers know, it is extremely rare for me to gush
over people for any reason, generally holding back emotional diatribes
for those infrequent occasions when I think someone is being unfairly
attacked (I dislike bullying as much as censorship). In part this is
because of my Quaker background, and part because of the social rule
that says, "The greater the number of people that like you, the greater
the number of people that dislike you." I would be heartbroken to think
someone was misjudged because of an association with me.

Anyway, all this is because I have three requests and I hope to impress
people with these visitors enough so that people would be willing to
lend a hand or two. Yes, I am asking for help.

First, I need a place to park my pickup in the LA-SD area for about 3
weeks. I really hate to think of paying parking fees at the LA airport
for that time period. If anyone could assist me, I would greatly
appreciate it. No need for a garage; a driveway would be dandy, but
street parking is acceptable and ANY help is greatly appreciated.

Second, it might be nice for my European ferret friends to meet with a
few of their US counterparts. Now, this might confirm I am wacky beyond
measure to both parties, but I don't care. ;-)  Besides, both parties
might discover some commonalities, and a ferret fix is nice. Be warned;
if a dozen people respond, I might only be able to accept one or two
invitations.

My last, and most important request. My best friends David and Kim are
adopting a child and I have promised for the last 2 1/2 years to act
as a traveling companion and au pair for their son, Sam. They have to
take two trips for the adoption and the first should have already been
done last month, but hasn't, and so can happen at any time. I should
have already been back from that first trip weeks ago. For reasons
beyond control, that initial trip has been delayed and it is becoming
increasingly likely that the call to travel may occur while I am with
my Dutch friends in the west. That puts me 6 degrees past being between
a rock and a hard spot because I cannot abandon my Dutch friends, nor
can I break a promise to my adopting friends. I don't generally feel
much anxiety, even when I should, but this problem has me tied in
knots a boy scout with a really sharp knife couldn't address.

I first thought of suicide, but since I've never really been suicidal
(rock climbing and hang gliding does not count, but maybe trying to
outdrink Danish girls does), I thought that it might be a bit extreme.
What I am hoping for, wishing on a star for, even begging for, is to
create a short list of people I can count on to call should the
unthinkable occur and these two extremely important events overlap.

Is there anyone willing to help out hosting my Dutch friends in case
I have to suddenly leave? Please with double sugar on it? They are
extremely fine people, they have supported the Ferret Project in ways
few others have, and I think you would find them good companions for a
couple of days. I've posted the rough itinerary; if you are anywhere
on the route, or can travel to it, and have some time you can spare,
PLEASE immediately contact me with a phone number and I will call you
in a day or so to discuss it.

I haven't mentioned this request to my Dutch friends because they are
extremely good people and would not want to impact my commitment to
Kim and David. They would simply tell me not to worry about it and
they would be fine (I can mentally picture them rolling their eyes and
chuckling at me). Unfortunately, they are on the FML and are probably
reading this right now, so ignore anything they might post in response
to this request. I plan on sticking my fingers in my ears and chanting
"la la la la la....I can't hear you!" ;-)

This is a real life series of unfortunate events, but I am convinced
there are plenty of FMLers out there that are more than willing to help
out should the worst case scenario occur and I have to miss part of my
"Dutch holiday."

Anyone willing to lend a hand with any or all of these requests for
help?

Bob C [log in to unmask]

[Posted in FML 6354]