[Lynn O. Doughty]

As I set here listening to my generator outside the kitchen window chugging away as it powers my furnace, tv and keyboard, I thought I'd pass along my frustrations of having to deal with this ICE situation.

We've been without power now for over a week and were informed this morning, after having strung us along for the past 7 days with promises that a truck was in the area and would be pulling into our driveway at any moment to replace the small 50 cent transformer fuse that keeps the power from reaching our meter, that it would be January 27 before we were once again supplied with the elixer of life, electricity. Why can't they just tell us the truth? Yesterday, when my wife called to check on the progress, they actually told her to go outside and see if the little "wheely thingy" inside the meter was turning. I guess our earlier description of the incoming lines being tied in a figure 8 Knot and wrapped around various tree branches were not enough for them. The only thing spinning around here are the new excuses they come up with each day and my head from trying to figure them out!

Two weeks ago I went down to the local hardware store to check on the price of a new Stihl Farm Boss chain saw. The salesman gave me a big product book and made the mistake of writing down the price next to the saw. Now faced with ten acres of fallen timber I went in Saturday to buy the saw only to note that the price had gone up ten dollars! Hmmmm....Price gouging? No....assured the store owner, these are NEW models. Funny the numbers are all the same. I bought the saw, came home and fueled it up and managed to cut through four sections of a log before the thing siezed up. Taking it back they said I must have gotten the fuel mixture wrong, even though I explained that I had two other saws working at the same time out of the same fuel can. They said they would take a look....My wife went by later to check on it and was told that they couldn't unlock the piston. She brought the saw home in pieces and within ten minutes I and a 1" wooden dowel had solved the problem and the saw is back doing what it's made for. So much for ever shopping in that store again.

With the power out the run on the local Lowes for generators quickly emptied the store. A local lumber company advertised on the radio that they were taking orders for generators to be delivered the next day. I ordered one. The next day they didn't show up. Nor the next day! Lowes finally got some in and I picked one up and we finally got some steady heat in the house. The ordered one finally came in. It was a reconditioned unit! Wasn't told that. Although it was supposed to come with wheels and a power cord it didn''t. Just by chance they had the wheel kits on hand...another $65.00. Getting it home the wife and I found that the wheel kit was for another model. "Well...just drill out the supports to make it fit!" We were told. That was it....we want our money back! "Sorry, as you special ordered it we can't take it back!" Power cord? They wanted $75.00 for the matching plug. One more local store loses this customers future business. Believe it or not, this business's owner is a Silver Beaver in the local Boy Scout district. He's a horses *** in mine!

You always hear that in such times as these everyone pulls together as a team, the best in people comes out, it's the crisis and how we face them that makes America so great! Well, I'm sad to say it, but there is a flip side to those observations. We don't seem to read about that side of the record so much. In sum here's my final thoughts on the matter.

Rural Electric..............Yuck!
Sanco Lumber.............Double Yuck!
True Value Hardware...Unprintable!
WalMart......................Sam Walton would be proud!
Lowes........................I'm going to buy some stock in this company.

So there you have it so far. Today, because my poor old body is in a state of constant pain from cutting and hoisting logs and limbs, I'm going to run an extension cord from the generator to my bandsaw and cut out a new blank of a disgusted Cowboy carrying an arm load of wood with a bowsaw in one hand and an icicle hanging from his nose and any other extremity.

Sorry, but that's just how I feel!

[AlArchie]

Lynn, please don't get down on the whole community because of a few HA's. These crisis bring out the best and the WORST in people.

Several years ago, we had some major flooding in our county....BIG TIME! I'm a retired cop, and volunteered bagging dikes and filling sandbags. Know who was right along side me? The biggest "dirt-bag" in the county! I'd busted him a dozen times or more, and there he was standing knee deep in snow melt runnoff, stacking sandbags to help out folks he probably stole from. Know who wasn't there? Some of our community leaders and politicians. Some were, but some only spent their time publicly thanking all who helped out......great gesture on their part, dontcha think? Some of our local business owners kicked in and helped out financially and others upped their prices. Brought out the best and the worst.

Years back, on a hot sultry August afternoon with the temps hovering around 90 and the humidity just about the same, my patrol car blew it's water and left me stranded about 20 miles from nowhere. Ya I radiod in, but we are in a VERY rural area and there wasn't any other cars out that day, and the one wrecker was tied up on the other side of the county. With a coffee can I was carting water from a creek about a 1/4 mile away, while dozens of cars drove by. Some even waved! One car stopped to see if I needed help. Again, one of the "dirt-bags" I've busted MANY times. Guess I must have treated him right, though. Tough times bring out the worst and the BEST in folks!

And GEEZE, I sure hope that electric company finally unerstands that your little "whirly thing" ain't whirlin' cuz the LINES ARE DOWN!

Al

[Irish]

I fell off my chair reading your "PLOM" tail of whoa! Funny how different people see things differently.

Mike and I are less than one hour from Washington, Baltimore and a half hour from Maryland's second largest city ... Fredercik. Yet we are still in the boonies. And having lived for 30 years on this same little piece of scrub ground through ice storms, hurricanes, snow storms, floods and drought we KNOW we are on the bottom of the repair list for every utility there is.

I can't count how many times we were without power which also means without water. And usually its between 5 to 7 days before we even think about rattling the PTBs of the electric company. After this long I guess we realize that the cities must come first, then the towns and eventually they will get around to us.

So we stock up heavy sometime in the late fall and, to tell you the truth, look forward to the coming snow storm outages. For us its a mini-vacation with lots of cookie baking on the gas stove and snugglin up under the heavy blankets.

Funny isn't it ... same situation yet different people and different attitudes.

Susan

[Ron Davidson]

Lynn know how you feel. At least when you talk to your power company you talk to a human it sounds like. Before we moved to Wichita we lived in a small town since I was 10 you know the place where you know everyone. We had a simular ice storm the winter before we moved. Do you think we received any help from our neighbors cleaning up. Nooo!!! They all drove by and watched a blind guy and his 73 year old mom drag and cut up limbs. This latest storm though we saw a difference had a couple neighbors come over and cleaned the drive and walkways several times and was greatly appreciated. But we didn't have it as bad as you by no means. As far as the chain saw I would have delivered it up someone's you know what. Sorry things are going so tough you have a right to vent. Hang in there.
Ron

[Tom H]

Lynn, Sorry for all your troubles! You probably shouldn't read any further. This morning at the local resturant where myself and many other locals have our coffee two local linemen from the co-op came in. We asked them where the heck have they been. They informed us that they just returned from Ok. where they were helping out. I asked if the situation was better out there. Here it comes...their answer...."must be, they sent us home - said they didn't need us, or our bucket trucks, anymore..." Tom H

[ElWoodTroll]

I got a feel for what you're going through all though we were with out power for only a few days, just long enough for water lines to freeze up. I've been on both ends though.Trying to replace lines and snapped off poles with fingers and toes frozen numb foot long snot sickles and beard frozen to my mask. HA's trying to persuade you forgo sleep, breaks and safety precautions and there just doesn't seem to be any end in sight for a thankless job. Thank heavens it only happens occasionally

[Lynn O. Doughty]

Well, sorry, but I'm not in the mood to kick back and bake some cookies. I've got a 93 year old temporarily living with us who's getting depressed about waking up each morning to a freezing house. And as for taking a vacation from the world of connectivity no thanks! I'll hopefully soon be basking in the light given off by my 43" widescreen while I'm surfing the net and drinking a cold one from my electric fridge.

Tom H.....Yes, I know about it. Day before yesterday and again yesterday morning the staging area for all the visiting power crews was totally vacant of their trucks, etc. Being the cynical person that I am I called REC (Rural Excuse Company) and said that I was calling from CNN and wanted to interview some of the visiting crews. Guess that's why you didn't see any interviews of visiting power crews on CNN last night. They"d left!

I got my blank cut and I'm heading to town to converse with other affected area woodcarvers. It's gonna be FUN!!! I wonder who will win in the story topping contest?

[Kenny_S]

I echo waht Tom H said, those Ks volunteers were sent home Monday evening also, Not needed any more. but I can tell you, those men looked like they just came back from a war. No sleep and very little to eat and two from our area, said, they weren't even thanked for their time.
They were also governed by the Ok electric people on what to do.
yep frustrations set in during these terible times.

long Range, Another strom in Feburary. But then the weathermen have been wrong before.

Still will pray fopr you and your family Lynn.

Garon,
Where are you and above all, How are you?.

[Tom H]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I haven't seen or heard anything on the news bout you ice storm folks blaming the storms on the President, and complainin bout the Federal Government not being responsive..Just kiddin! Don't anybody get their knickers in a knot....Tom H

[Lynn O. Doughty]

You're right Tom...as soon as southern California's oranges got a little frost on them all the people in the middle of the country with no power and tons of damage were quickly forgotton.