THAT looks promising!!
Moderator
THAT looks promising!!
Contributor
Malcolm,
I am glad you were able to celebrate! Please continue your posts as you can about your hurricane recovery. There are some things in life you can learn through personal experience or from those who are experiencing them. I find you posts so educational and interesting!
Wishing you the best in the upcoming New Year!
Ken
So much to learn, so little time.....
Moderator
Wow...that's great news, Malcolm!!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
[OP]
Contributor
It is confirmed- WE HAVE POWER!!!! 113 days. I'm considering getting a tattoo that says, "5 + 5 = 113" but I would get sick of explaining what it meant! I am still in Tennessee this week visiting family, but my neighbor confirmed that my meter is lit. I have the main breaker off so that no appliances fry while I am gone. I will check everything, and also will install some surge suppressors that I bought prior to throwing the switch and having (insert trumpet sound here) ELECTRICITY!!!
On a side note, and yes, I have said this before- I'm just amazed at all the homes that have huge garages and workshops here. It almost would make it worth withstanding this bitter cold every winter. ... almost.... but not quite!!! You guys are nuts. No wonder you get so much woodworking done during the winter.
I am redoing my workshop and have the lighting taken out right now, so when I get home I have to rewire the new lights so I can get back to working in more than just flashlight! Lots to do when I get home. My friends who recently got power have all said that you suddenly realize how dirty your house is when the lights come on. My shop is a total mess because I was building a new closet and putting up slatwall (thread soon to come about my new slatwall organized shop) and I can only imagine how much dust will show up when the lights are on.
Contributor
Great news! Congrats!
Bet you'll like the slatwall.
Fred
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Moderator
Good news on the power!!Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer
What end of TN are you visiting? I was talking with a friend the other day and his brother in law was just heading back to the Virgin Islands yesterday (I forget exactly where) after visiting a bit. His two kids have been here since the storm hit and will probably finish out the school year while he works on rebuilding his dive/tee shirt shop. I saw a photo - his house is just plain gone, a flat lot. (He was on low ground a block from the water)
Bitter cold??! You should go to Minnesota or Wisconsin or [gasp] Canada. I grew up in Pennsylvania and compared to even that TN is balmy. The winter is short and the temperatures are well above freezing much of the time. The middle of the summer is almost worse since the humidity is high. I put heat and air conditioning in my shop and it's comfortable all year. I do get far more shop time in the winter but not from the temperature but because the farm and garden take up much of the rest of the year. I worked out of a tiny space for a long time but built a 24x62 shop a few years ago.
JKJ
[OP]
Contributor
I am in Memphis this week. I always seem to bring a cold snap when I come. For once I would like to come when it is warm. I went to KC to visit my brother in May and went to Handworks. It sleeted- in May!
Was your friend's brother in law in St. Thomas? One dive shop I know of got leveled. I mean not a twig left.
Moderator
That's great news, Malcolm!!!! So happy to hear you have power back to your property! Safe travels and happy new year!
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Moderator
I'll send a note and ask him. (He's a busy veterinarian so we don't get much time to chat!) I tried to find the photo to show you but after an exhaustive search I think I don't have a copy - he must have showed it to me on his phone. Seems like the ocean was to the right, then a row of buildings, then a row of what used to be thickly leaved trees, then his lot. The trees were stripped bare and his lot looked like a flat beach with debris. He's evidently finally gotten some insurance money and is working on rebuilding the store first (maybe to get back into business), then the house. I haven't met him but I did meet his kids at the vet clinic (right across the fence from their temporary school!). We can be so thankful we have family when disaster hits.
I'll bet there are stories like that all over the islands.
JKJ
Member
Hip Hip Hooray!!!!
When we moved to Florida and I saw the laid back attitude here, I realized why so much gets done up north - in the winter, there's nothing else to do but work!
Last edited by Julie Moriarty; 12-30-2017 at 2:33 PM.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain
Member
Glad to hear that Malcolm!
Listening to the radio, two days ago on the national syndicated news there was a story about how slow the progress has been restoring the power in the Virgin Islands. Like 1/3 of the homes have power now. They didn't go into what the problems are like lack of materials. Or that with everything gone it just takes a lot of time starting from scratch. Hope to hear that your compatriots get power soon.
-Tom
Moderator
A friend of mine flew down to help for a week or so. He said in the area he was working in all the electrical poles were gone.
JKJ
[OP]
Contributor
It is much better than 1/3, but still a long way to go. They have done an amazing job rewiring STT and STX from scratch. Due to Puerto Rico, Florida, and Houston, there has been a nationwide shortage of transformers, so they were wiring poles and waiting on transformers. A ship recently came in with them. There are 800 linemen working and literally boatloads of equipment. They brought in hundreds of brand new trucks for setting poles and bucket trucks.
After Marilyn in 1995 they apparently set poles quickly at less than optimal depths. I have heard many linemen say poles were found set only 2 feet deep. Just about every pole was down, leaning, or damaged after the storms. I would say greater than 80%, and really want to say 90%. I think it is amazing how far they have come in 4 months. Poles are set and wired properly, and I feel like we would do a whole lot better if a similar storm hit after this.
[OP]
Contributor
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A thousand words.
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Queue the hallelujah chorus.
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