This morning, a long term AU friend, who I’d met through Countercurrents in 2007, sent me verbatim this news:
U.S. facing very active weather pattern for the next two weeks
I already knew because of my troubles yesterday as follows:
At around 7:30 A.M. EST in MA, USA where I live, a huge 18 wheeler came barreling down the main street — in fact racing at a pace well past the speed limit. In doing so, he took out my neighbor’s way high on telephone poles and my electrical lines, and pulled, too, my electrical meter box off of my very old 1860’s house with such a force that it flew down the road!
Surely, that driver could feel the jolt from his massive line damage. Yet he, not wanting to take responsibility, nor be fined for poor driving behavior, simply kept going down the street to his destination wherever it may be.
Of course, this all was very concerning — especially as in about one half hour a huge and icy snowstorm was suppose to hit central Massachusetts and my first thought after the truck struck was to phone the town police to say that I had no means to contact National Grid company as I didn’t know their telephone number (which I couldn’t look up online since my internet was, also, down with the electrical outage) and that there were now possibly dangerous downed “live” wires in my neighborhood.
Then I called my sister in Maryland to have her supply me with telephone numbers for National Grid, the electricity company that serves my region. However, I didn’t stay long on the phone with her since I had no way to recharge my phone battery, obviously. So I had to save my ability to use a phone for upcoming emergencies only.
Then upon talking to a National Grid representative, it was decided that a linesman would immediately come to my street to cut the electric connections and collect the broken wiring. At the same time, the representative informed me that I was responsible to get a new meter box, as well as find a certified electrician to install it.
Well, thank goodness that I had an old (2023) yellow (business) pages phone book listing telephone numbers for companies so that I could hunt for a nearby electrician since my usual one, who’d fairly recently installed a hot water heater, was presently away from our region for his father’s funeral. So I began the hunt for another electrician using the book.
Many companies listed in tit had gone out of business and others just had voicemail messages since the electricians were away from the phone while doing work. So I left my telephone number as a voicemail and asked for a return call to take place as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the temperature in my house kept dropping and snow was flying at a furious pace down to the ground while there was not much traffic anymore on any nearby streets and schools in my state had been planned to be closed for the day.
Yet all that I could think about was that I didn’t want my plumbing pipes to freeze and break such that I needed someone to fix my electricity setup ASAP! Therefore, I kept with my telephoning task. (Thank goodness that I’d charged my phone the night beforehand!)
Finally, I spoke to a real person — an electrician — who told me that his crew were all currently busy taking care of other customers who had just had power outages due to the new storm. Then, I asked whether he could recommend another electrician and he said that he, definitely, could and gave me the number for one whom he said was very good — aka., shrewd, knowledgeable, diligent, thorough, quick and hard working.
Therefore, I called that chap next and got his voice machine. So I left my number and said that it was an emergency so, please, call me back soon.
That he did and said in response to my describing mybtravail that he’d be over to my home within a half hour. And he brought in his truck an employee of his and immediately started looking to buy a meter box.
Next, he went to my basement to check out the antique fuse box to flip it off and make sure that when the meter ripped off of the house, the action didn’t stress the fuse box. Otherwise, he’d have to fix that, too.
Next someone delivered to him a meter box and other materials — including a very tall pole (around three building stories high) to strap to the side of the house to hold the intended new line way up higher in the air than on a typical tall telephone pole. Then, too, he called the electric company to come hook us up, as well as our neighbor. (Then, too, the policeman with whom I had talked dropped by twice to make sure that I was safe and to give me the address of a place to be warm and to shelter if I needed it, as well as an electrician who could hook me up tomorrow, I found out.)
Meanwhile, I was wearing my winter coat and hat indoors, as well as kept my eye on my house (boiler connected):thermostat since I’d have to start slow dripping my faucets, including my washing machine’s, if my basement temperature went down to a few degrees above freezing.
All the same, the two electricians kept on task mostly outdoors where the temperature was below freezing and the snow kept smacking them while they steadily rebooked my electricity delivery materials back together.
…All in all, the main electrician and his helper’s work stayed on task for hours on end while taking around five to six hours, and they had driven here to my home and back away from my home in very bad road conditions despite frequent snowplows sweeping up and down all streets. Meanwhile, my helpers were working mostly outside while heavy, wet snow kept pummeling them both, including in their faces!
So in the end and despite the discomfort of the circumstances, it is wonderful to know that there are reliable, good hearted, dependable neighbors — such as the steadfast police, electrical company linesmen and electricians always ready to immediately serve — even in very difficult weather conditions! Furthermore, they will try their utmost to reliably deliver highest quality and quick service as much as they can manage when needed. How reassuring— especially in the face of others existing, too, like the driver of the big truck who, rather than take responsibility and attempt to be helpful, fled the scene of the accident that he, himself, had caused.
What a truly wonderful situation to actually, though, live in a community largely composed of proactive helpers, including my immediate neighbors, who have rendered aid to me in the past! It makes one feel safe and secure no matter whatever nasty happens since there will always be a remedy and goodly people who step forward to assist even in bad conditions like a cold and wet snowstorm to bring relief to oneself!
How fortunate I am to live in such beneficial circumstances where many people strive to better the world around themselves! What a dependable, ongoing boon!
Sally Dugman lives and writes from central Massachusetts in the USA.
