Well, I thought I was one of the lucky few ... one of those people who isn't allergic to poison ivy. After 39 years of camping, hiking and yard work, I had never gotten poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac. It wasn’t because I had made a point of avoiding those poisons. Heck, I didn't even really know what they looked like. I had just heard some rumblings about "leaves of three, let them be." And then, it happened. Days before the Checkpoint Zero Race in Helen, Ga., I found some really cool ivy growing up an old tree in my new back yard. So, I pulled it down. It was so cool that I even showed it to my son Henry. HUGE mistake!

The 90 degree weather at the CPO race really brought out the rash on both of our bodies and we were miserable. Then Tecnu came to the rescue. There were samples of their poison ivy wash in every racer and volunteer schwag bag. Generous folks loaded us up with the stuff and our itching was relieved. THANK YOU RACERS, VOLUNTEERS and TECNU!

I have seen a lot more of that "cool ivy" growing up our trees and even in the flower beds. I do feel a little better prepared since we now have a cabinet at home stocked with Tecnu outdoor skin cleanser and a picture of poison ivy, oak and sumac. Hopefully, we are ready for the summer ahead.

Lisa Cox

P.S.: Now Paul has THE IVY!