Loss of public electricity situation report

Loss of public electricity situation report

It looks like a Hollywood movie war  zone around here. Having seen the real thing, I think the Hollywood version is always better.

I also think the Bon Air and Crossville region got it pretty bad, too.

Of course I won’t go see the movie Unforgiven (the book is very good) because the Hollywood version of a Japanese POW camp in the movie trailer is better than some of the places I have lived in the US Marines.

I (really my son) did clear the 400 yards of driveway since I was blocked in pretty bad by downed trees and limbs. Some of oak limbs  and pine trees were up to 12” in diameter. I suspect the understory around here will be thicker than normal this coming warm season, and probably full of local ticks, too. You (John H) should be aware during any future cave entrance exploring trips around here, too.

You know what was crazy to me. The local Hemlocks electric plant still worked while the public electricity  was down for about 4 days. A lot of people (thousands) are still without it, and it is supposed to get down to 12 F Thursday night. Bummer. Hopefully, they will get electricity restored before then.

There are electrical repair guys from many states around here, too. So far I got to thank some of those from Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and even Tennessee. One was an ex-Marine, by the way.

Now I used my wood stoves for heat, but even by those standards my son from Wilmington NC strongly suggested we go into Monterey to the only motel here because they had heat, hot water, and a warm room, and two beds to sleep in. I guess my standards are lower than most Americans these days..... We got the last room available after it came open. This place would make you proud to be an American, as all people are pretty much pulling together and helping each other as best they can. I met a lady from Michigan at the motel that is still without power (at her nearby home), too.

Even the local police used a humvee (an Army gift after the middle east wars but they (the local police) gotta maintain the thing) and two strong guys to make it in to me one time, and when they saw I was surviving OK, they left and got out somehow. The only comment I remember is that it would take an armored vehicle to do the driveway trip routinely.  Bummer again.

Last a lot of the electrical rescue/repair guys had bad colds and bad coughs, so some sacrifice on their part in the crummy weather is also going on. It is still winter here.

And when in the Marines, I was often one of the rescue guys, so now that I get to be one of the rescued  (old and single) people, I can go use to that pretty easy, too. I like it, and all in all in this tough trip through paradise, I really do appreciate all that all people are doing. That being said, the recovery period is in months or years I would say. Some people did have trees fall on their houses and penetrate their roofs, and at least that did not happen to me. The only tree to fall on a roof around here was over my tractor, and it messed the aluminum roof pretty good, but the steel support took the load OK, and the tractor survived just fine. Now the starter switch is out due to old age and the cold, and since delivery these days is sporadic, maybe I can get and put a new switch in within a week or so.

And the yard dogs and yard puppies seem to be doing OK, too.

PS FedEx Ground just made a delivery, so XXXXX can claim a reward for all his driveway clearing work as at least one driver (from FedEx) is either dumb enough or brave enough to venture down the driveway. I thank them all, too, especially since the driveway is still full of solid ice and snow, too.