Hello, everybody. There's been a whole lot happening as I get ready to head to North Carolina this week for one final goodbye to my grandmother, so let's get to it.

First up...the attention immediately turned from the aftermath of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate to Hurricane Gustav, as it made landfall on Louisiana today leaving 1 million residents without power. And unlike Katrina three years ago, New Orleans and the Mississippi coast were at the ready this time.

Gustav of course put a minor crimp to the Republican National Convention, which is already underway in Minneapolis with a scaled-back first day. But the big story away from the convention once again belongs to Palin, as her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is now pregnant. You can bet the late nighters will be striking comedy gold with that one all this week.

Like I told you on Saturday, I'll be flying down to North Carolina on Wednesday for my grandmother's funeral on Friday which I'm sure will be one of the saddest and most emotional days of my life. And to paraphrase Billy Graham from three years ago, Mildred Allen has been looking forward to her death with great anticipation. I probably won't consider it a funeral, but a celebration of her life.

Of course, I know there'll be a computer nearby, so I'll be blogging from either North Carolina or Virginia next time with a recap and whatever else that transpired from the Twin Cities. Till then, so long and stay strong.