Opinion: Unsung heroes sparkle in recent winter storm

The meteorologist’s predictions were completely on target.

The forecast was for heavy rain, ice, sleet and snow. In that order, they came – and in the amounts forecasted.

Looking at the radar on TV made it pretty clear that a whole lot of moisture was poised to spill out over a widespread area.

As I watched the inevitable deluge come about, I was reminded why I spend as much of the winter as possible on Maui. In fact, if I had a dollar for each time since the storm I was asked if I wished I was on Maui, I could afford to stay longer.

Being attacked by the full gamut of winter moisture isn’t my idea of how to spend late autumn. Amid early reports of ice and sleet, I wondered if we would lose electric power. I didn’t wonder long; the power went off almost on cue.

As it turned out, the electricity was off for only five hours. That is time enough to contemplate our almost total reliance on electricity. Absolutely nothing in the house worked. Not even the garage door could be opened (not that we wanted to go anywhere).

Cordless telephones were just silent sentinels with no power. Eventually, a landline telephone, an instrument of the past, was found to plug in and keep in touch with the outside world. Cell phones could do the job, assuming they didn’t need to be recharged.

High-tech is nice, but without electricity, some may be on a short leash. With the exception of a battery-powered radio, we were cut off from sources of information.

The house was conspicuously silent, creating an eerie void. We 21st century Americans are a pampered lot.

In the midst of the freezing rain-turning-to-sleet phase of the storm, I looked out a front window and the Post Office truck was stopped at our mailbox; the mailwoman didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by the weather.

I suppose when power is lost during an ice storm, it is natural to be concerned that it might be off for several days. We learned that City Utilities workers had found the problem: a downed tree had taken out a power line. As soon as the tree could be cut up and disposed of, power would be restored. That was good news. I wanted to cheer these CU workers and all the others who would be out in the worst of weather cutting away fallen trees and repairing lines. They are unsung heroes, indeed.

By the time the power came on, the house was getting a little nippy. In no time, the resurgent furnace returned the temperature to normal. A lot of people weren’t so lucky, and it was our good luck: The neighborhood had a problem that happened early and, by comparison to other predicaments, was reasonably easy to find and fix. News of homes without power for days caused a tinge of guilt for my five hours of fretting.

As I considered the return to the comforts of a well-heated, well-lit home, I thought of all the people working in the nasty weather so the rest of us could have normal lives. Public Works crews were out in the elements before, during and after storms, keeping the roads and as many streets as possible open for us.

Other workers cleared parking lots of ice and snow so that business could be conducted with as little inconvenience as possible.

The morning after most of the final layer of snow had fallen, the driveway was a snow-covered lump.

Underneath was the morning newspaper. I guess the first vehicle to plow through our ice-sleet-snow covered street was the newspaper carrier. Policemen, firemen, bus drivers, truck drivers and so many others who brave the elements to overcome the elements are heroes; they deserve a cheer.

The mailwoman didn’t miss a beat; the mail was delivered on schedule. Let’s hear it for the mailwoman!

Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.