Chris A. Butler: Kudos to Xcel

I, as a resident of Boulder County, must applaud the diligent work by the grunts at Xcel Energy.  I’ve been an early riser of late (roughly 5 a.m.)  and did so even earlier on Wednesday morning due to a complete power outage.  I then stepped outside onto my deck to to survey why, only to be confronted by at least 12 inches of heavy wet snow that had fallen within a few hours.  My trees were stressed, it was eerily dark and almost haunting.  Yet the most haunting was the sound of neighboring branches breaking, almost as if at a shooting range, then the low hanging clouds were reflecting sharp flashes within minutes of each other from horizon to horizon, followed by the crack of electrical explosions.  I knew then and there that we had a problem.  Even more strange, it was quite a site, in that it brought flashbacks of the footage from when the war started in Bagdad so many years ago.  It was seriously that dramatic.  Remarkably, power was restored by 6 a.m., but finally ended by 9:00, which was understandable after hearing a series of more pops from the distance.

It was then that I had another thought.  Thoughts of the guys, like our men (and women) in the military, that were expected to come save the day.  You know, no matter the harm in his (or her) way, no matter whether they had to dodge falling branches, wears wet gloves, deal with cold, darkness, and voltage that could likely vaporize them in a matter of a second.  I and my daughter were without our expected luxury of warmth, water, and light for nearly 36 hours.  And, yes, I occasionally cussed under my breath for the inconvenience.  But, and this is a big but, I had to remind myself that we also had the luxury of being indoors, rapped in blankets and felt somewhat secure knowing that it would all end soon—and it finally did!  Now, as usual, life will go on.  Surely, some will view it as if it never happened.  But I won’t.  Were they tardy in their duties?  Did they deserve any criticism?  No way!  Hey, all one had to do to realize what they were truly up against was just take the same two (if that) moments to stand on my porch Wednesday morning.

Thanks to whoever you are out there.  I and my daughter truly appreciate it.  Now hopefully you can get some well deserved, and I mean highly well deserved sleep.

Chris A. Butler
Longmont