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]