CARIIS - had the misfortune of being caught in an ice storm in 2000 - just before the " 2001" turn of the century that predicted doom. My mother had just died, we were in Arkadelphia Arkansas when we had to abandon the road -me and husband, and very young son, mom's dog (and bulldog named pumpkin) and cat (who had been the only cat my dad -who predeceased my mom - had ever loved) - we managed to get off the road that night thinking we could pull into a hotel - all full, of electric technicians from as far north as Iowa, sent in to repair the damage - we saw transformers blow up as the ice destroyed the entire area. We wound up at a red cross shelter (first methodist arkadelphia, iirc) and were fed, bedded and cared for - pets outside in the car - we woke up to start and warm every two hours - who nestled together in blankets for warmth - and survived. but i will never forget the line of technicians and trucks streaming in from points north to restore power to the area - which had suffered catastrophic damage. there must have been 300 of them - I'll never forget that, or the people of that church and the red cross or the night in the shelter. That pup and kitten lived to a very old age, dear son is a grown man with his own family, and me and that crazy husband of mine who likes to check the mailbox during hurricanes, are still running around - picking up where we left off. Lost our power during this hurricane - our techs got out, got it done and brought us back up in 9 hours.. I'll be donating to the lineman college this year (and forward)
