To thank the linemen
 

For all those who have loved ones that have traveled far and wide to help the needy poeple all along the east coast I want to thank you for giving your time away from family and routine. There are still many people in need and I am so very lucky to only have lost power for one short week.

I saw trucks from as far away as Missippi in my area of Pa. Thank you over and over. No one should ever complain about the amount of time it takes to get power back after a storm like this. I also went nine days last year after the freak snowstorm. I'm sure some of the same people were here helping us out then.
You do a great thing and I can't thank you enough. Bless you all.
peace

glad you are safe. big thanks to all the helpers.

I am glad you are safe and you are so very right to thank all those that help. We often forget how many wonderful people leave their families and travel often at their own expensive to help people in need. Thank you all. And thank you to those who make quilts, send toys and clothes to those who are in need. We love you for all you do.

Kat

Com Ed sent lots of trucks to the east coast...first batch was 70 trucks...I don't remember the # of the second batch. BTW, Com Ed is from the Chicago area of Illinois.

Glad you are OK....

It warms my heart to hear a thank you for these hard working guys. Two of my sons work for a tree service that contracts with the power companies. Whenever and wherever there is a storm they volunteer for storm duty to go help clear the fallen trees and limbs so the lines can be restrung and power restored. Yes, they are paid overtime, but they are away from their worried families for a long time, sometimes weeks. They have been gone since last Monday, working 16 hour days without a break. Last year was terrible what with tornadoes and Hurricane Irene and that freak snow storm here in October. Often people do not realize the work involved in restoring power and get angry that it isn't back on sooner. Believe me, they are all doing their best!

I just read tonight that several crews from AL went to NJ to help. They checked in with the powers that be and were told unless they became unionized they would not be allowed to work. Refusing to participate in that, they regretfully left and went home.

Jan in VA

Thank you, Ube Quilting, for recognizing the hard work these men do. I'm married to a lineman who just left yesterday from S. Dakota and will be going to the NY/NJ area, probably for about 2 - 3 weeks. Many people do not realize how much can be involved in restoring power to so many people after a disaster such as this. I've started writing about his trip on my blog if anyone is interested. (I did a post today on how power gets to your home - it's not just one big switch that someone turns on ;-))

I'm glad you finally have your power back on.

Jan, I've heard that story too, but I'm not sure that's exactly what happened. This is what Snopes has to say about it:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/sandyunion.asp

I know there were some workers from Missouri that went up to help out. Don't know from what part of the state they were from.
Electric is a wonderful thing. Thanks to all the helpers.

I live in KY and three years ago we had an ice storm in January that knocked power out throughout most of the state. At our house we were without power for eight days, but I know there were people in very rural areas who were without power for three weeks. Help from power companies came from states as far as Georgia and Alabama to help. They work in very unfavorable conditions and long hours. Those workers are our lifesavers because they bring our lives back to normal!