YAY! Our electricity is back on!

[KNeal]

Our power came back on Sunday afternoon at 3:36 p.m. I was in the living room when I heard my wife yell, "The refrigerator is running!" I naturally wanted to yell back, "Tell it to sit still!", but then I realized she was referring more to hearing the motor in it coming back on than the amount of mobility the appliance inherited. Whew! That was 10 straight days, almost to the minute, that we were without electrical power or hot water. I took 6 cold showers and developed a severe disdain for them during the FIRST one ! We also discovered just how much we can use the outdoor grill for cooking.

Ellen and I immediately got in our car and drove around the neighborhood and found as many of the crews as we could and thanked them for coming up and helping us. They were most grateful for our temporary interruption, even some of them were still in their "cherry pickers" connecting other lines.

On Saturday, we bought a styrofoam cooler and loaded it down with soft drinks and ice and went looking for some of the crews that were working in our neighborhood, even though our power was not on yet and we had no idea how much longer our ordeal was going to be. We found them headquartering at a local church and drove up to a bunch that were taking a break, eating a sandwich on the backs of their pick-up trucks. Boy! These guys were EXHAUSTED! They were slumped over in the middle of a very warm and sunny day and their faces were lined with the exhaustion they must have felt. I walked over to a few of them and asked if they could do me a favor. They just looked at me and asked what it was. I brought out the cooler, laid it on the truck beside them and said to grab a cold soda when they feel thirsty and enjoy it. Oh, Man! Their faces lit right up and their backs straightened just a little. Christmas came just a little early for them. I told the other crews where the soda was and they were just so happy to have it. We spent some time talking with them and found out that they were from Houston, Texas and it took 2 1/2 days to get up here, they start work at 7 a.m. and try to be done by 5:30 p.m., though we saw them working past 7:00 last night. Those crews are working hard and are here away from their homes and families until the job is done, so it felt good to reach out to them and let them know that we are a grateful community for all their work and time away from home. By the way, we apparently not the only ones who reached out to them. A supervisor told me that all the communities they have been in have taken care of them, bringing food and drinks for them every day. Way cool !

Now, it's back to resuming a normal lifestyle. Who is still up for paddling the Ocoee and other rivers the weekend of Oct. 10-11? That will be on a Friday and Saturday?

KNeal

[PAC]

I'm glad things are getting back to normal and good for you letting the linemen know they are appreciated! That's a tough job usually done in the worse situations.

[Mike W.]

Hey KNeal, this is for you!

For all of you who have survived Hurricanes. And for all of you
who have never been in a hurricane, a little taste of Hurricane
humor...
Some of these you had to be a Tidewater Va. resident to understand.

My list of things I learned from hurricane Isabel

dam there are a lot of trees around here.

The person with the biggest generator wins.

A generator is no good if you can't get gas.

People are willing to pay $2,000.00 for a $400.00
generator, even if they can't get any gas.

Your cats are even more irritating with out power.

I don't care how big your house is, it is not big enough
for your wife, your mother and your mother in law, your daughter, your
daughters friend, your daughters friend's friend, your three cats, and your
two dogs ? even if you do have a generator.

Not having the internet for a week is almost as painful
as a root canal.

dam there are a lot of trees around here.

If you are an electrician ? everyone is your friend.

If you have a generator ? everyone is your friend.

If you have a chainsaw ? everyone is your friend.

If you have ice ? everyone is your fiend.

You can cook just about anything on a gas grill.

I thought since I was forty-three years old I could stay
out as late as I wanted, but a Newport News cop told me differently as I
stood in line for gas at 11:00 PM.

dam there are a lot of trees around here.

Virginia Power, VDOT, and FEMA must have the same
management.

There are a lot more stars in the sky than most of us
thought.

I am finding it hard to sleep now with out the sound of
generators running outside my window.

It takes exactly 15 minutes for the kids to get bored
with out cable TV or the internet.

No matter how bad the weather or how large the power
outage you can always find a Chinese fast food restaurant open.

You can wear the same pair of underwear for three days.

If I had owned a store that sold ice, generators and gas
I could retire now.

dam there are a lot of trees around here.

People will get in line at a gas station that does not
have power.

Tele-marketers call no matter what.

Some things do stop the mail.

The mid town tunnel will flood if the flood gates are not
lowered during a flood.

I will never make fun of other states having a power
blackout again.

dam there are a lot of trees around here.

Crickets can increase their volume to overcome the sound
of generators.

85 degrees seems a lot hotter when you don't have air
conditioning.

Since your neighbor just got power you must be next ?
WRONG!

VW Beatles really do float ? so do most cars (just for a
little while).

The three hundred FEMA trucks sitting at Fort Eustis with
generators, ice and other supplies aren't doing anyone any good just
sitting there.

How to boil water so it is safe to drink if you don't
have any power?

And last but not least, dam there are a lot of trees
around here.

Mike W.

[KNeal]

Dam#, Mike W. You just about caused me to spew coffee onto my computer monitor this morning ! Those "lessons" were pretty much about right on about gas, generators, noise, boredom, and the repeats about the trees (although you could have added a few more bits about the trees ). Here are a few more I have learned.

Announcing the location of available gas, and free ice over the TV is useless to the people who truly need it.

If you want to find a FEMA rep., go to your local Starbucks.

Placing pallets of bag ice in an area that has electricity does not help those who do not have power (since they do not know about the location of the ice, anyway).

Rip-off artists will sell 7 lb. bag ice out of their vehicles for $2.00 when they normally cost $1.25.

The city is giving bag ice away for free--providing you can find the location.

Those who do less during a power outage will groan and complain more.

The subdivisions where the "snobs" live never lost power.

You drive through different areas to see who has power, what houses and cars got hit by trees, and to see where the utility crews are now working.

Houses and properties on one side of the street faired the storm well while many on the other side of the street suffered significant damage to their homes (the grass is greener, where?)

Placing your face up against the glass windows so you can see how your trees are surviving the hurricane/tropical storm is about as intelligent as placing your hand on a hot burner to see if it is hot.

Cats love to watch the trees with you.

You do the neighborhood a disservice with your generator if you are not brewing the coffee in the morning.

If you think your neighbors cannot become more irritated with you for not brewing coffee in the morning, go ahead and run your generator all night so you can keep your refrigerator cool and be able to watch TV and see where all the free ice is located.

Do not fuss at the out-of-town utility workers for not working in your area yet. They ARE from out-of-town.

And...

Dam*. There are a LOT of trees!

As of today, there are still several thousands without electricity.

KNeal