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4.14 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 7 9 www.painstopshere.org insurance deductible, in case anything does go wrong, though none of the homeowners report anything disastrous and each says they would do it again if they haven't already. "I think it's a brilliant idea, and I'm surprised more people don't do it," Mahon says. "A lot of people are resistant to having people in their house. I couldn't care less." But how realistic is all this? Where would you go? Would you become a squatter at the ofce all weekend? Take the money and skip town for Jamaica? McKim's mother lives across the river in southern Indiana, and McKim and her partner and their cats and dogs visit there for the weekend. If anything does go wrong she's only 40 minutes away, but she hasn't run into that problem. Mahon visits her boyfriend, who lives in Los Angeles. She has teenage kids, but so far the Derby has happened to fall on the week that they stay at their dad's house. She tells her neighbors that she's renting for the weekend, but otherwise leaves guests to enjoy themselves. Te Chandlers have traveled all over, often visiting their grandchildren in Atlanta. Bill Chandler says he probably wouldn't rent to strangers, and that his friend leaves the place in better shape than when they left. "I think he probably wants to be invited back," Chandler says. It's not as though these residents are miserly Derby scrooges who love to skip town to avoid the trafc, gas prices and general fun. Sims doesn't even leave town. She stays with friends in Anchorage who have named their guest bedroom "Cheri's room." Tey go to the track and celebrate in full. Even though Mahon is usually on the opposite side of the country, she still goes to a sports bar and sings "My Old Kentucky Home." "Tere's so much more to Derby than those two minutes," she says. She's gone to rooftop parties for Tunder Over Louisville and has hosted a hat swap with her girlfriends. She leaves a guestbook behind for visitors to share their stories. It's packed in the attic along with the space-saving air- compression bags holding the rental-only sheets and towels, but Mahon says guests have written about their bucket list experiences and walks through the neighborhood to the Barnstable Brown party on Derby Eve. Down in Atlanta, Bill Chandler's daughter, Elizabeth Stone, and her husband Brian make their "party of the year" a Derby party, inviting 50 to 75 of their friends and their friends' children. Chandler says that he remembers the frst time his parents took him to the Derby in the early 1950s when he was 10 years old. "I picked the winner, I think," he says. "If you grow up here and have any interest, wherever you are on the frst Saturday in May, you have to have a TV on, have a mint julep in your hand and cry when they sing 'My Old Kentucky Home.'" www.savetheday4kids.org oaks day breakfast Sponsored by Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri Friday, May 2 | 8-10 a.m. | Boys & Girls Haven On Oaks Day this year, you can help SAVE THE DAY for our kids by joining us on campus for a free breakfast with our special guest, Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri. Enjoy a southern breakfast, drinks and the opportunity to support Boys and Girls Haven. (Limited seating available) To RSVP, call (502) 458-1171 ext. 139 or visit SaveTheDay4Kids.org to make a donation. 64-81.indd 79 3/19/14 5:27 PM