Good morning, y’all. I’m trying to ignore the bitter cold that has penetrated our little mountain hideaway. I must report that I am not being very successful in that endeavor. They say it’s in the 30’s but the wind makes it feel like the teens. I think we’re just a gnat’s whisker away from getting snow and ice, so I’m making preparations to hunker down in the Rec room in case we lose power.
We’ve got a new diesel generator setup that will provide power to the Rec room in case Georgia Power isn’t able to live up to their obligations. I say new, it’s new to TackyToo. It previously provided back up power to the hospital over in Blairsville. I won’t say I stole it, but, I got a really, really, really good deal on it. The influence of one Dr. Lester Payne was instrumental in the negotiations. Having a brother-in-law on the hospital board can be a good thing, even if he is an insufferable son-of-a-gun.
After the famous “Snowpocalypse of 2014”, I decided that the residents of TackyToo, and specifically one Bud Lite, didn’t need to put up with that power outage bailiwick anymore. I bought the generator after the hospital decided that they needed to upgrade. I guess one “Snowpocalypse” in a lifetime is enough, and folks up here have seen a couple. Parts of our area didn’t get the power restored for over two weeks, and that is just not acceptable. Mobile homes are not insulated well enough to withstand the ravages of winter. When the power goes out, it’s just a matter of time before you don’t have to worry about closing the refrigerator door. The food will keep just as good with the door open.
Anyway, I figure the generator paid for itself this February when the ice storm hit and the power lines went down. Folks were able to make pallets on the floor, watch the big screen and generally chill out while we waited for Georgia Power to get to us. We were able to eat potluck meals from the stuff people had on hand. I had a good supply of snacks and cold drinks for the vending machines. It was as good a way to suffer through a catastrophe as any. I mean, who can get to a “shelter” when the roads are solid ice? Certainly not folks up in the mountains. So we hunker down, and the concessions entry on my income statement enjoys a little uptick.
Well, I’m scooting about, making sure we’ve got exactly twelve, full 50 gallon jerry cans filled with diesel in the maintenance shed. I make sure that all of the vending machines are full, and that we are well stocked on toilet paper and air fresheners. While I’m rambling about I see that the playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinatti Bengals is on. The Bengals are Mulva’s favorite team, she loves their uniforms. I must confess to having little or no interest in the game, but, there are a bunch of former Bulldogs on the Bengals, and a couple on the Steelers. I just don’t have the feel for the professional game like I used to. It might be the Michael Vicks and Pacman Jones that turned me off. Probably the greedy owners did more than anything else. I just don’t feel it anymore unless there’s some Bulldogs in the mix.
Anyway, I stopped to catch my breath and to see how the Bulldog alumnae were doing. Well, imagine the World Wide Wrestling Alliance joins the NFL for a cage match. They even had what appeared to be WWW fans in attendance. Watch the video below as fans threw things at Ben Roethlisberger as he was being carted off after being injured. Real classy stuff. There were several donnybrooks, multiple cheap shots, a general lack of control by the officials. A close game was decided by multiple personal foul penalties that advanced the Steelers close enough for the game winning field goal. Steelers win, 18-16. I don’t know in all my years if I’ve seen one like this, but I can swear on a stack of Bibles I’ve never seen a coach penalized for pulling the dreadlocks of an opposing player. That struck a new low, even for the Bungles.