On Monday, Oct. 29, Sandy took our electricity in upstaging fashion. On Friday, Nov. 2, four days later in the wee hours of the morning, it was restored to our household. The journey in between, for me, was a roller-coaster ride. Adversity brings out the best and the worst in people and we all have stories of examples of each. My gratitude to all these hard working people is overflowing for restoring our beloved electricity.

I met a linesman worker with a southern accent on Wednesday who, after crossing a busy street to greet me, told me that he had driven two days to get here. I noticed his truck said Greenville, (North Carolina) on it and he was grasping a can of Redbull. He was social and polite, and kindly told me that it would probably be a couple of days until I got my power back. At the time, I was two nights without power and almost through the second day.

All I could think of was, "Oh no! More cold showers and dark evenings."

In retrospect, I should have thanked him heartily for driving two straight days to get here. I should have told him how amazingly grateful I was. I should have been more like him.