1 post tagged “electrical work”
23 August 2007
We had us a big old thunderstorm last night here at the homestead outside of Jonesboro, Ga. It seemed like, and was, right on top of us. It didn’t take long for the electrical supply to be shutoff. Luckily, it started after we had eaten dinner, so our tummy tum tums were full. The electric went off, oh, about 9:00 and stayed off until about 3:00 in the morning or so. We had a flashlight and lots of candles so we were not sitting in a total blackout. Plus, the storm drove the hot air out of the neighborhood. That, and the coolness of the rain, lowered the temperature to 75 degrees. We sat out on the back porch until around midnight, then came inside, opened our bedroom window, and slept comfortably until around 3:00 when the power came back on. The sound of everything coming back to life was very loud in the stillness. So we got up and closed all the windows and turned off the things that should be off when you’re not using them. We had the good fortune to awaken to a beautiful day.
When I got up this morning Yun was already up and preparing Daeng Jang (salted bean paste placed allowed to ferment.) It is used as a condiment or the base of various soups. It is delicious used as a sauce into which green hot peppers can be dipped.
Yun asked me to rush to the store and buy two boxes of salt as she didn’t have enough. Now driving anyplace really can’t be rushed, if you go within the speed limit, so there trip really wasn’t rushed. But I went and came back. On the way I passed the reason for the power outage. About a block away a tall pine tree and come down across the road and apparently shorted or snapped some power lines. It was down the hill and around the corner, or as Sassy often says “Boppie (she always call me Boppie when she likes me, Old Man when she doesn’t) go straight ahead and then turn”. That is Sassy’ answer for all directions, and so far they have worked very well for her. Anyway, at least part of the tree was still under the power lines. The rest of it was across the road. Except one car width of space in the center to allow passage.
Electrical work is dangerous all the time, but multiplied by working in stormy weather it is much worse (what an understatement). CNNMoney.com listed Power linemen as the number 7 most dangerous jobs in the United States for 2006 with 35 deaths for every 100,000 workers. The national salary average for power line repairmen is about $51,790. I don’t know if their pay is commensurate to the level of danger they daily engage; but I doubt it. Waiting 6 hours for the power to come back on seemed like a reasonable cost for their safety. Now, of course, had it not been a cool night I may not have been so magnanimous; but that’s human nature. No one likes being inconvenienced.
