I went to the well, and the well was dry when I was trying to come up with an L post. L should be an easy letter to write about since it is one of the most common letters in the English language. And you can guess what I did after I wrote that last sentence. I checked the statistics on how common L is. It turns out that it is 11th out of the 26 letters, in the top half, but not as common as I thought.
Anyway, after going down several dead-end L paths, I decided to rerun a post from seven years ago that is near and dear to my heart.
My father was a lineman for the electric company. He spent his entire career climbing poles and working with high voltage wire, and it was a job that suited him well. He loved being outdoors and doing physical work. In fact, when he was offered managerial positions, he declined because he didn't want to be inside all day. His mother should have known that this might be the career he would choose when she saw him as a boy jumping from tree to tree playing tree tag.
However, parts of the job were difficult, and that's what I remember most. Daddy had to go out anytime day or night in the worst weather because that was when there was usually a power outage. Severe thunderstorms with lots of rain. My father was out. Ice storms. My father was out. Deep snow. My father was out. Sometimes for days. One time he worked 54 hours straight without a break. Luckily since then, there has been a rule that you can't work that long at any one time. But linemen still work very long hours in very difficult situations.
This brings me to one of my pet peeves--people complaining about how long it takes to get their electricity back on after a storm. When it takes more than a few hours, the complaining starts. News reporters get man-on-the-street comments about how bad the electric company is and how things should be fixed by now. No one seems to think about what might be involved to get the electricity working again. It takes a lot of hard physical work, usually done in severe weather conditions.
Enough lecturing. But you know, we all have buttons that can be pushed, and you just learned one of mine.
The picture is of an amazing cross-stitch done by Aunt Martha. The man on the pole looks much like my father did, including the blue jeans and work shirt he is wearing.
Really. We often end up complaining without thinking what may actually be happening. It's physically straining and a risky job. Kudos to ur dad����
ReplyDeleteDropping by from a to z http://afshan-shaik.blogspot.com/
There is usually more to the story than meets the eye, and when we remember that, we are empathetic.
DeleteIf I were married to a lineman I would find it to be as nerve-wracking as, say, being married to a policeman or firefighter. Such a dangerous job and you are right, there are a lot of complaints about people not getting their electricity back on quickly. There have been many times where I've seen trucks from far-distant states where electrical workers have given of themselves to help restore power in a community which isn't their own, and I am so appreciative of that.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very dangerous job that someone needs to be trained well in to do safely. One of our friends when I was growing up, was electrocuted to death. I don't know the particulars, but he was a professional.
DeleteI can't imagine how hard that job would be, especially if the weather did damage and you'd rather be at home fixing your own house/yard.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of have pet peeves related to jobs held by people we love. My dad worked in water and wastewater for most of my life and I get really irritated when people make ignorant comments about chemicals in water.
Chemicals are what make water safe for us to drink and not all chemicals are bad. But if you say the word chemical, it gets some people going. I totally understand how it irritates you when people make ignorant comments.
DeleteWow, thanks for that perspective. In a world of instant downloads and same day delivery, people's patience can be very short. Especially when they see their neighbor's power is restored but their isn't. Or if it's a practically freeze weather, they wonder what is it taking so long. They're must be a better way of keeping people informed. I think sometimes people are just looking for information.
ReplyDeleteLiving without electricity is not fun and I totally understand how people's nerves wear thin without it. However, until the workmen figure out the source of the problem, time estimates are hard to make, especially working in inclement weather. I agree that some people just want information and that's not what bothers me. It's the ones who complain without a clue of how difficult the work is to fix the problem.
DeleteYes. I totally agree. Some people just look out for their own comfort without a though that it's not the workers fault.
Deletewe can call the outage line and they put you on their automated call list that provides updates on when the power will return. Usually before I even get the phone update, its back on. I think it would be a great job for the adventurous and outdoors types, to be out in the weather and up high. I think the same of the windmill farm repair folk who get to go so high and have such good views. We don't often have extended power outages here. The rare exception is when we have ice storms, that drop trees on the lines like crazy.
ReplyDeleteIce storms are the worst for power outages. In our immediate neighborhood, the electrical lines are buried so we don't get that many outages.
DeleteOnce again, I have that song, Wichita Lineman, playing in my mind! A great big Thank You to your father and all the others like him, who are out there working in all kinds of weather to keep the rest of us in comfort in our homes. I promise I won't complain the next time the power goes off and it takes more than a few minutes for it to be restored!
ReplyDeleteI love that Glen Campbell song because it makes me think about my father. I don't think you're the complaining kind anyway. And it's okay to complain, just don't do it in front of me because I might give you a lecture. :)
DeleteThat is a beautiful cross stitch!! Very nicely done!
ReplyDeleteWow, what a job your dad had!! That was neat that he really liked it too and preferred being outside rather than being managerial! It is hard work! And you are right, on call because the electricity never goes out during normal day hours it seems! We get terrible monsoons here in Arizona and last year the high winds took out like 6 electric poles. It was about a mile from where we lived but thankfully didn't affect our power. Those lineman and crew worked really hard to get the electricity restored. I thought they had it done in record time!
Good topic for the letter "L".
I did the A/Z challenge under 2 different blogs which are now private ones as I'm not writing in them these days. I'm going to go back and see what I used for some of the letters I'm struggling with. I may do what you did and take a post from the past to use for this challenge :)
betty
Those are powerful winds to take down electric poles. I've read about the monsoons in Arizona, but think of them more as rain events than wind events.
DeleteI have definitely hit the wall with the challenge as I do every year. I always do it last minute and never have a plan. I've been blogging here for a while, so I do rerun things from time to time. I don't think anyone remembers much.
We live at the end of a power grid and have learned in really bad situations it will take several days before we get power restored. So we wait. I think the worst ever was 6 days with no power when we were extremely grateful to have a gas water heater and a gas cooktop. It was winter and I was the only one in our cul de sac with a gas stove. I wound up cooking everyone's foods that could not be rescued, and we had big neighborhood meals. Plus if you are the only one who can provide morning coffee do you have any idea how popular you temporarily become?
ReplyDeleteAnother example of how adversity can bring people together. I can only imagine how popular you were with warm coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker, but my husband would have been there front and center.
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