I can't say for certain. But there's a far better than 50-50 chance that my mother's house burned to the ground today in Rancho Bernardo. I got a call at 5:30 this morning that she was evacuating. I was concerned that she'd be able to vacate the area safely. But she managed to get to San Diego Hospice with plenty of oxygen left in her tank. (She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure 2-1/2 years ago. When she received her diagnosis, her physician gave her six months to live. Needless to say, she's beaten the odds. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> ) Hospice was overrun as a result of the evacuations, so they had to send her to a local hotel. She's settled into a room and safe for now. But it's one thing for a young person to try to recover from something as devastating as losing his or her home and quite another for a nearly 90-year-old, severely debilitated woman to do so. She's handling it like a trooper. But you know it has to be taking a toll on her.

Anyway, please keep her in your prayers. She and 250,000 other San Diego residents can certainly use them.

Bruce...