Sunday, September 21, 2008

Stormy Weather

The cool breeze tickles the hair on the back of my neck. It is a beautiful fall morning in Ohio. My eyes hurt with the clarity of the white clouds against the robin’s egg sky. I sit on my back porch; Stewart’s lovingly prepared coffee warming the mug in my hand. I watch the cherry picker from the electric company negotiate around my hummingbird tree. I don’t care about the big truck ruining the grass, but please, don’t hurt my tree. The Green Mountain Maple was the first purchase I made when I bought this little house after my divorce 5 years ago. It was a luxury purchase as I really didn’t have the money. I did however, have plenty of credit card room in preparation for any emergency that might arise with a new home. This was my emergency; I had to have this symbol of my independence.

My tree survived “Hurricane Ike” in Columbus. Other trees weren’t so lucky. The strong thick branches that support the living tissues of a tree are the same branches that violently crash to the ground, or on a roof. Most big trees in Central Ohio are a shadow of their former selves with gaping holes in their interiors and whole sides missing. Many of those gaping holes result in street coverage . . . at exactly where my car needs to go.

Shane from American Electric Power thanks me for providing his trucks and crew access to my back yard. I appreciate him thanking me; it’s nice and I’m sure it is best to thank the people who allow you to enter their property. You create goodwill and perhaps avoid having to get the courts involved; however, do people really say “no”? There is an easement on my property after all; I knew it when I bought the place. There is no way of getting to that easement without coming through and over my land. If I refuse, what else could AEP do? Drop in via helicopter? I know they win, it’s Eminent Domain; I remember my history lessons. Yet, if I had really said “no”, (assuming that I had a leg to stand on) what would that say about my character? How selfish would I be? It never dawned on me to decline, yet Harvey, imported from Progress Energy in The Carolinas, assures me that people do say no and sometimes it makes their work really difficult.


So what; I have some tire tracks in my unnaturally weed-free grass and a brown patch most likely from heat created by the inner workings of the cherry picker. I never lost power or had to take a shower at the Y like many of my friends, yet I feel like I have contributed somehow, if only by getting out of the way and letting the rebuilding begin.


1 comment:

  1. What a good looking crew........so nice of you to allow them to do their work so that others could have electricity!!
    You were very fortunate not to have lost yours. Glad that your maple survived the storms.........many did not! Just think what nice shade it will provide in years to come.

    ReplyDelete