HANDLE ELECTRICAL CURRENT WITH CARE

A friend in Phoenix sent a forward to me with a movie that showed an electrical worker restoring the current to fix a power outage. He was wearing a full bodied safe suit that covered his gloved hands as the helicopter raised him to the height required to reconnect the current with safety. It was nerve racking even to watch him from the safety of my desk chair as the wires sent sparks flying high.

That movie brought to mind an event that had happened to Luke’s great grandfather in the mid 1930s. He was installing an outlet in his parent’s kitchen that had the 32 volt system which was the only one available on the farms. He was about 15 years old and his mother and older brother were in the kitchen chatting and watching him complete the installation. His working hands paused in silence and his brother said, “Mom, Bob looks kind of strange, do you think he is okay?” His mother replied with complete confidence in his ability to handle the situation, “Oh, he can fix anything but enjoys giving us a scare once in awhile.” She continued with her ironing and carried the cooled flat iron to click its handle to its mate heating on top of the wood stove. During those moments Grandpa Bob heard what was being said by his mother and brother as a strange sensation moved from his hands in a seeming downward motion. He could not speak or move but with what strength he could muster managed to kick the electric cord with one foot and remove it from the plug in.

Later he told me that it would have been “curtains” for his life if he had been working with 110 volt system now currently being used. He also confided that for several weeks he could not handle looking at himself in a mirror. Apparently his nervous system required time to heal completely.