Thevillageatheist - 09 November 2012 07:13 AM

There are still too many people suffering to celebrate about this for long but after 10 days in the dark it sure is nice to be back. A big thanks to folks from all over the country who have come to help us out.

We’ve had power outages here, ex. in July, but nothing to compare to what you guys went through. I can only imagine what it would be like in a city without power for over a week. We’ve heard horror stories about looting but I hope they’re not true. Great to hear you’re back in the 21st Cent. Mac.

cap’t Jack

Thanks Jack. As with any natural disaster there are always going to be a few bad apples who try to take advantage like the local gas station yesterday that was advertising gas at $4.29 but charged you $4.79/gallon when you got to the pump when every other dealer in the area is charging $3.89-4.09. There have been sporadic cases of gauging and rare cases of looting but overall everyone has been pretty well behaved and far more stories of heroism and neighbor helping neighbor, neighbor helping strangers and so on. My wife was so grateful for the Texas lineman that were getting power to our home that she brought them boxes of coffee and italian cookies to warm them up in the nasty cold wet weather we were having ( I accused her of having an ulterior motive as it kept them working and may have gotten our power back quicker… she gave me the stink eye for that comment.. lol).

A friend of mine lives on a street with a lot of babies and some older folks who had no power for the past ten days. She pleaded with a crew to help them out. The crew had come all the way from Louisiana to assist with repairs. When they finished what they were doing they came over and connected the street. She had gone through the neighborhood and took up a collection for those guys to say thank you and managed to come up with several hundred dollars but when she tried to give it to them they refused.

Stories like that give you faith in the human spirit and bring a bit of light to an otherwise dark episode. It seems all the bad eggs make the news but having lived through this its reassuring to see that the vast majority of people are actually good folks willing to help each other and rise to the occasion no matter where they’re from.

Coldheart Tucker - 09 November 2012 09:21 AM

asanta - 09 November 2012 12:56 AM

They are turning away the non-union linemen

You sure about that?

An Alabama utility crew heading to New Jersey has returned home, claiming it had to affiliate with a union to help with the recovery effort after Superstorm Sandy. But union officials, a New Jersey utility company and the governor said Friday they are mistaken.

IBEW President Ed Hill said in Washington, “It is the policy of this union and the companies we represent to welcome assistance during major natural disasters — regardless of union status.”

Ron Morano, a spokesman for Jersey Central Power & Light, which serves Seaside Heights, said non-union crews are helping restore power, and the union knows it is all hands on deck.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said the Alabama crew got “bad information” and non-union crews are welcomed in the recovery effort.

Electric utilities in Alabama reported sending more than 600 employees to help restore power in states hit by Sandy.

Decatur Utilities later issued a statement on Friday that said: “To be clear, at no time were our crews ‘turned away’ from the utility in Seaside Heights.”

I’m talking about individuals, NOT the state/city etc. I think it is extremely shortsighted of these people who appear to be very proud of themselves.

Many union members take their membership as seriously as fundamentalists take their religion.

Stories like that give you faith in the human spirit and bring a bit of light to an otherwise dark episode. It seems all the bad eggs make the news but having lived through this its reassuring to see that the vast majority of people are actually good folks willing to help each other and rise to the occasion no matter where they’re from.

This is the type of story that should be headline news, neighbors working through a tough time together with help from those outside of the area not the shots of a few loonies taking advantage of a bad situation. It distorts reality. Infotainment at it’s worst! Kudos to you guys up there.

Cap’t Jack