Scare

Well yesterday we (our family) had a pretty big scare. In our area (for those of you who haven't watched the news) there was a power lineman accident. For those of you who don't know what a lineman is (which is what Brad does for a living), they climb power poles and work with electricity. This is a very dangerous job and should be taken very seriously. When your power goes out at any time - during a storm, the summertime heat, etc. - a lineman is the one risking his life to get your power turned back on.

So back to the scare - there were two lineman that had gotten electrocuted. One was killed and the other sustained extremely serious burns and is in critical condition. I had to find this information out from a friend (which was fine), but then also from the local news channel. The news didn't even have all of the information and was just a tidbit - but it was a story, so they ran with it. I just barely caught the end of the news story - so I tried to look it up on a local news channel's website. And from there it just got worse. People (anyone) can comment on stories, so I read some of the responses to this one. And boy, what a big mistake that was. There were people commenting that - wow, this story is electrifying or shocking. Others saying - oh, I thought linemen just stole copper wire. And yet others saying, that a woman needed counseling because her husband is a lineman and she worries every time he walks out the door to go to work. People can be so cruel - I just couldn't believe it. People have no respect - these men were/are sons, husbands and fathers. They have nothing better to do with their time than to write negative comments about something they know nothing about. I was getting pretty stinkin' mad and sitting there crying because I was worried that one of these men was my husband. At the time, I hadn't been able to get ahold of Brad yet - so I was scared. Really. Freakin'. Scared.

The story is horrific and I know more details than someone just watching the news. And believe me, being a lineman is a scary thing. I worry about Brad every time he has to go to work. He doesn't have THE most dangerous job, but it's up there. When he finally did get home, Josh and I went outside to meet him. And there, all three of us did a huge bear hug. And of course, then the tears started pouring. Complete meltdown ensued. I'm not sure if I didn't want to believe or if I just didn't want to start panicking yet - probably a little bit of both. If Brad hadn't called me, and I hadn't heard anything by the time I usually do - watch out. Sheer terror and panic would have erupted. People don't even say thank you to lineman, and the only time they complain about their power is when it's out. So next time you turn on a light, think of a lineman.