I dunno if they actually make their own environment, but I do think they certainly 'bend it' more than just a small amount. It may be an old wives tale, I don't know, but much 'real medicine' is derived from old folk remedies once they understand what is really going on. Hey, we have 'medical leeches' now, and use maggots to clean infections that don't respond to conventional antibiotics. The old wives tale says the big storms do make their own weather, and I believe, in many cases, it to be worth knowing where the saying came from and it's basis in fact. Just because we haven't found or understood the science behind the saying doesn't mean we shouldn't discount it entirely. I also tend to agree that if Charley is already a cat 3 storm, it will not necessarily follow the forcasted tracks based upon a TS or Cat 1 storm. I would tend to bet on a bending to the East could be happening, wives tale or not. An early apparant turn to the N, appears to have possibly started and that would support a more easterly track. In a way, I hope we're both (all 3 of us) are wrong because as much as I would like to see Tampa spared, i remind myself that I do live in Orlando, and I personally would NOT like a major storm bearing down on me because an old wives tail turned out to be right.