Robben Ford Discussion

JohnnyZ · Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 2:49 pm Post subject: New England Ice Storm, 12/2008

Hello All!

I'm back after almost exactly 4 days and 22 hours without power in my home due to last Thursday's ice storm that crippled parts of New England and especially my immediate area. I was unfortunate and lucky at the same time. The power went out on my Methuen, MA city street at 5:30 AM Friday as a result of several old tree limbs falling and downing power lines. The biggest damage done was the really old tree in front of my house losing a major limb from the weight of the ice and falling over power lines snapping the utility pole which feeds my house and several neighbors'. Along with that, the downing ripped the electrical service from my house. And then, I found out that I was responsible for repairing/replacing the electrical conduit on my house before power could be restored! Whoa! Ok, so I get that work done, then the electric company shows up at 2 AM today to start their hook-up which took 1.5 hours. Anyway, I'm so grateful that we have electricity, heat, fresh food in the refrigerator, and of course, internet! But this incident really made me think about the other disasters, such as Katrina, and how people suffered more than I have. Gotta be a blues song in there somewhere...

I hope everyone is safe and wish you all a Merry Christmas. And please, look out for you neighbors. Thanks goodness for mine.

Best Regards,
JohnnyZ
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Bluelobster · Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:32 pm Post subject: Xmas

Wow Johnny , you are such a cool man ; i know a bunch of people and not so many will take advantage from such a drag to think about neighbours and wealthness, i presume me first , now to stick with my bulshitness how weird you have to repair all that part yourselves, will town council ask you to pay for thetree ????
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roadwarriorfortheblues · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:30 am Post subject: Brrrrrrrrrrr

Hey JZ, glad to hear you're safe and with power again.

Just last night I was sitting out back enjoying the beautiful weather and thinking to myself how grateful I am to be living in Florida. There will be lots of good bands to see over the holidays. I'll see Tab Benoit on Friday and maybe Seth Walker on Saturday. In January, Pinetop Perkins with Bob Margolin will be playing Skipper's. Pinetop Perkins is 95-years-young!

Another cool thing I found out about recently was live webcasts from The Green Parrot in Key West. There will be one Friday, Dec. 19th from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. featuring Blind Pig recording artist Damon Fowler. Ain't it great you can see live Blues without leaving your house???
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JohnnyZ · Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 10:15 am Post subject:

Thank you all!

>> ...how weird you have to repair all that part yourselves, will town council ask you to pay for the tree ????

Yes, it was confusing to learn what my responsibilities were in getting my electricity hooked back up. It's strange that I, the homeowner, own the conduit to the meter through which the electric company runs its wires. Had I not talked to the emegency crew that came the next day to denergize and remove the primary 7,620-volt uninsulated cable that lay across my driveway, I would never have known to get someone to replace the conduit, thus most certainly a much longer delay in having power. Regarding the tree, the city owns it, and they most likely will have to remove the rest of it for safety

It was so nice last night to plug in one of my electrics and just noodle away... Very Happy

RW, during my many hours just sitting in the dark staring at the flames in my fireplace, relocating to St. Pete's for that Draper Labs position (as opposed to the 2-year assignment that I held out for) crossed my mind more than once... Wink

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rainmkr63 · Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:08 pm Post subject:

It's interesting to read a little real life drama from an R.F. fan. I feel pretty lucky that we don't have to deal with that kind of weather here in Las Vegas. We did get some snow the other day but it made the front page of the news paper (because it is a rare event) and was not a big hassle.

I think I would either sit at a bar, go to a friends or sit and play acoustic if I had no power. In the summer it would be very hard for us to not have power, sitting in your house while the temperature climes to 140 is not cool Neutral

Glad to hear your back up and running again, rock on.

Rob

JohnnyZ · Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:40 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the kind sentiments, rainmaker! Yes, several nights that we were without power, my wife and did go out to restaurants and a bar or two. Actually, my 25 year old son who's still living at home took me out bar-hopping on Saturday night into a young-person-filled downtown Haverhill where I felt very, very old. But, after many Jameson's and beer chasers, I didn't give a crap about being the old man... Laughing

As I type, we're getting snow at the rate of 1-2 inches per hour, which has been happening for the past 4 hours. Gotta love this New England weather (right RoadWarrior)! Laughing

Thanks again,
JZ
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marinblues · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 1:42 am Post subject:

Hi Johnny,

I am glad to read that your normal life has been restored.

These things really make me think how dependant we are on certian commodities and technologies and how sometimes we can take them for granted.

Marin
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JohnnyZ · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:03 am Post subject:

>> I am glad to read that your normal life has been restored.

There would be much debate around the use of the word "normal"... Laughing

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marinblues · Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:13 am Post subject: