What is going on? Oh, no, we’ve lost electricity. I wonder how long it will be off? I had tried the kitchen lights, then the bathroom lights and then the living room.
I had been procrastinating. I need to work on some of the tedious parts of getting my book ready for publication. After working hard all week as a guest (substitute) teacher, all I wanted to on a Saturday is relax. But I also wanted to get the book done.
Now, this could be another obstacle.
I wanted to go to the neighbors to find out if they had lost electricity. I jumped in the shower, got dressed and went outside.
I saw my next-door neighbor coming up from the street. “I talked to the neighbors across the street and their lights are out too. I don’t know how long they’ll be out. My internet and phone isn’t working.”
Another neighbor smiled and said, “I hope they get it back on so I can watch the golf game this afternoon.” I expressed concern about the food in the refrigerator.
An elderly neighbor shared, “I saw a truck down the road. Maybe they’re working on it. I can’t walk down there.”
“Okay, I’ll walk down there and find out.” I volunteered.
As I walked down the road, I spotted the truck and walked up to a man with a hard hat on. I looked up to see another man in the bucket, working on the wires.
“What happened?” I asked the man in the safety vest and hard hat.
“Well, the strong wind knocked off one of the jumper cables so we’re fixing it. You’ll probably have your electricity back in about twenty minutes.”
“Awesome! I am glad. You’re our heroes for the day!”
“Thank you! It’s hard to be on call. This is going into thirty hours of overtime for me. We’ve had a lot going on lately, squirrels, the wind, someone backed into a transformer.”
“Thirty hours of overtime! That’s a lot!”
He nodded, “Yes, but it’s my job and two of us have to be on call. I’ll be in the middle of something. get a call and I must go. This is part of my job” He shrugged his shoulders with resignation. “Fortunately, I love my job!”
“You do? What are the reasons?”
“I have something different happen every day. I like being able to go outside instead of sitting behind a desk especially on a day like today.” He glanced up at the clear sky and the sun.
“Awesome! I’m glad you like your job and we sure appreciate it!”
An older man pulled up in a car, “What are you doing talking to this guy?”
I turned to look at him and his wife sitting in the car.
“He’s our hero for the day. He’s fixing our electricity.”
The older man turned to the man and said, “How come it went out. Why aren’t you doing your job? Don’t I pay you enough?” The elderly man continued to tease the man with insults.
Finally, he put the gear in drive and the car began to roll, “Good to see you.” His voice turned warmer and then he drove off.
I turned back to the man, “We appreciate what you’re doing to help us.” I introduced myself and found out his name is Joe. He told me the man in the bucket is Chris.
“I’m a guest (substitute) teacher. I like to tell the students to appreciate the everyday heroes in our lives. We always give honor to those who do great things but today, you and Chris are our heroes.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” He went to the truck and turned to me “Thank you for paying your bills so we can have a job and help you!”
I went home pleased that I would be able to get back to my book project with electricity to fuel my computer.
We all depend on electricity for daily living, entertainment and to read and to see at night. This everyday hero didn’t wear a cape but a safety vest.
How good it is to appreciate and honor those who serve us in this capacity. They make sacrifices for us to have our needs met. We need to use our words to encourage and build each other up and take the time to say, “Thank you!”