Dr. Laura,
I am not writing with an issue or complaint, just an observation. I travel a great deal and that allows me to listen to you often even if sporadically.
A couple of weeks ago you read articles on dangerous and stressful jobs. I know you were just taking the information as it was presented and had occasion to question the author.
I am sure many of your listeners thought: what about "my" occupation. And that is basically where I am going with this. There are people out there who risk their lives daily to bring to our citizens a commodity that is all but indispensable. They are the linemen (and some women) in the power industry.
Their work often goes without notice because your lights tend to stay on. Sure, we all know just how many hours we did without power. But few are aware of the number of hours people work in an extremely hazardous and stressful environment to keep the lights on while the work gets done.
The stress is a direct correlation to the hazard. We don't have many "minor" incidents in our work. We are often working in the most severe of circumstances and cannot allow our guard to be down for the briefest of moments. Usually the people in this field do the work because they love it. That is not to say we aren't compensated for our work. But trust me, few stay for the money once they understand the consequences of an error. And it isn't the money that makes them want to spend countless hours working to restore power to a community after a storm, hurricane and most recently the tornadoes. We do this because there is a certain pride in doing a job few would consider and many would find too challenging all the while providing a service none would voluntarily do without.
I was blessed to have a good wife who allowed me to grow in my career as a lineman. Someone who was willing to take of the kids and keep washing my clothes, even bringing them to me so I could be dry for a few minutes, while I worked for days and sometimes weeks to put lines back up. More than just the workers make the sacrifice. We miss a few birthdays and we won't even talk about anniversaries. That can create a lot of stress in your life.
I don't write this looking for heroics or praise - surely there are many other professions that don't get recognized. We do know our hazard and should be able to protect ourselves from it. I just thought maybe someone should speak up for a noble profession that rarely gets noticed unless someone is unhappy with their utility bill.
Mike
