Record setting outages rekindle lineman's Christmas memory
Record setting outages rekindle lineman's Christmas memory

By Jack Money

Published: December 25, 2007

Games by candlelight, with a cozy fire nearby.

This memory of Christmas seven years ago is carried by an Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. lineman who helped Oklahoma City area residents after record setting outages caused by the ice storm Dec. 9 and 10.

Shorty Thompson, 46, recalls how his family spent its time in the aftermath of an ice storm on Christmas in 2000 that left his family and about 180,000 other electric customers in the dark.

Thompson couldn't be home.

But he knew his wife, 15-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter had the candles, the fireplace, the games, a wood-burning stove and a propane fueled hot water tank and that they would be fine.

During OG&E's response to that storm, Thompson only made it home to see his family a couple of times. The family home didn't have power for a week, but he made sure his wife and kids were prepared, he said.

"I remember it was cold. It sleeted, rained and snowed on us nearly the entire time we were out,” Thompson said. "I live in southern Oklahoma, and that's where it was roughest.”

And the family, which cooked all three of its meals on the stove or fireplace, grew closer together during the outage. He said neighbors came by to have some camp stove coffee, chili or beans.

"It really brought our whole community together,” Thompson recalls.

He added that having an understanding family helps when you are a lineman.

"As long as we all know our families our secure, then we can concentrate on getting customers' power back on. When people don't have power, their lives aren't normal.”

As a lineman who has worked for OG&E for 18 years, Thompson said he has worked storms across the

nation.

This storm brought its own unique experiences to Thompson, who has been a foreman for more than four years now.

"We have had to walk in everybody's back yard to make sure we don't burn someone's house down if we turn the power back on,” he said.

"I have jumped more fences and run from more dogs in the past few weeks than I have in a long time.”

Still, OG&E is blessed, he said, because it has some of the best customers in the nation.

"It is just a great feeling to see how appreciative they are of us,” he said. "It really makes our day when we do get someone's lights back on.”

He also complimented his company's outage coordinators for the plans they make to get power restored.

"We stay on that plan to get everyone's power back on as safely and as quickly as we can,” Thompson said.

As this storm winds down, Thompson's thoughts turn to the Christmas ahead, with hopes to be home when it arrives.

"That is our goal and our plan, and I am looking forward to going home. But I am looking forward to getting everyone's power back on first,” he said.

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