02/18/2021
From our daughter❤️ Katelyn:
Listen up yall, this is important.
Please enjoy this photo comparing my husbands and new and old work boots. This was from December, the old boots were literally falling apart. The started off the color of the new ones and in just under a year they degraded to look like they do. If you don’t know, josh works in the electrical field specifically dealing with water/wastewater systems on an industrial level. Since COVID began, he’s been off a total of 4 days aside from the usual holidays. 2 days waiting for covid test results and Monday and Tuesday of this week being snowed in. Unless you enjoy having p**p back into your home, you cannot deny his “essential-ness”
He and my dad (and the other 2 co workers who could safely get in) worked today, 11 hours outside in the cold with water and ice. They restored water to multiple neighborhoods who have been without. They worked until 8 pm. They’ll do it again tomorrow and it’ll be another late day.
As things dry up you’ll see more and more crews out working. Electric crews workin on restoring and perfecting power supply, plumbers addressing busted pipes, and people like my dad and my husband who are in between making your power and water work together. 99.99999% of the time the person you see or talk to on the phone has NOTHING to do with why your power or water is out. They’re working as fast as they can to fix something that was completely out of their control. Please be gracious, be kind, leave them alone or offer encouragement but there’s no need to share choice words about how long you went without. The PEC crews going around have no control over how the rolling blackouts are timed. Reports coming in of energy company linemen being harassed, complaints on neighborhood pages when someone on a job site can’t give a specific answer, they’re doing everything they can to help you. They’re not the bad guy. They’re cold and tired, they have to go home to the same conditions we’re all facing. Take a moment to see past yourself for a moment and extend some grace.