Names

The terminology for the right-of-way process was more than just words and meant more than mere paperwork.  They meant scary business. To provide the powerlines to pass through the right-of-way, there needed to be access allowed to the tree men & line crew to be able to restore the flow of the electric power through.  The definition of right-of-way is the right of one vehicle, vessel, or person to take precedence over another. 

 

My best way to understand right-of-way is a scenario such as this. Say you live in an area where power lines are stretching through. It would be important to have power lines established otherwise we won't have power. I want you to picture some trees that have fallen on the wires and you don't have any power right now.

 

The local power company and all its employees need to gain a court paper that gives them the right of way through your property. They can cut down any trees, and bushes, and clear away any land they assess to be necessary for ensuring the safety of everyone.

 

We don't realize when our power goes out and we get snarly that there are individuals who are working hard to restore our power. This can only be done if they have a right of way to get into the troubled areas which may well be our property. 

 

This is how Mickey handled those situations. When the customer expressed hesitation, Mickey would remind them they had just willingly signed the contract with a witness present. That seemed to have settled matters in one way or another. 

Mickey was always looking forward chose to keep his hand in the engineering business, and procured a job surveying properties.  As I listen to what the surveying task involves I am greatly impressed.

  

As he figured out the dimensions of the specified property, he needed to use the survey data he collected, whereby creating a property map to be used in mortgage and realty issues.

 

In the conferences he attended, he learned the need for focus on the importance of ensuring an efficient means to safety for the customer & environment. 

 

Neither Mickey nor his co-worker and buddy, Hank had any idea of the danger and uncomfortable setting they would work in. Mickey said, “It was a scary job.”

 

Mickey who has changed his name to Mike has had many nicknames throughout his life, Some having more meaning than others. One of our neighbors whom he looked up to called him Stuffer. 

 

He smiles today when reminded of that name. Another very meaningful name that at the time probably didn't seem to have much impact is Nike. That name might have been some kind of a foreshadowing. 

 

In Greek mythology, Nike was the goddess of victory and my brother was victorious over his tragic accident. The shoe company liked it so much they named themselves after her.  A perfectly suitable name for my brother. 

 

As he has matured as Mike, he expressed his opinion regarding the surveying procedure. “I'm grateful I got out of that business. The way it was going, by now, it is pure technology. He reflected upon his daily routine.

Reliable trustworthy instruments had to be packed up daily. They were not simple. One of the more vital devices involved in this field is a transit tool. The tools necessary to complete the surveying job included are a transit. He knew he must always have access to the correct tools in order to complete his daily tasks in an efficient and accurate process. 

 

The other tools he needed were a stadium rod, a 12 ft. fiberglass rod printed with numbers from 1-12. The plumbob is necessary to establish what is plumb, exactly vertical. A string suspended with a weight at the bottom will be both vertical and perpendicular to any level plane through which it passes.

 

With AI and technology involved, the tools listed above would end up in a surveyor’s museum. People are going to be the same all around, with technology or without. The same tasks will need to be carried out, regardless of the customer's comfort.

 

Mickey said they encountered people were called tree huggers who he knew had a shotgun or twenty-two, possibly planted on the rack in their pickup or could have been in a rack over their bed or their couch, He knew they had to be ever vigilant. He knew they might have to do some ducking among the trees. He knows of some workers who were shot.

 

What they were doing was unacceptable to customers of the local electric company, Central Vermont Public Service. Mickey and his friend Hank had to clear away the trees and brush to create a right-of-way for the customer and the company. What Mickey and Hank had to do was necessary however customers did not think so. 

 

They would often become increasingly belligerent as Hank was beginning to saw some of the trees and Mickey was chopping off some of the branches. Names were slung at them, however, Mickey and Hank carried on.

 

They had a supervisor named Foxy who after observing Mickey placed him in charge of the whole situation with the tree men, making him the manager of the 2 man group made up of him and Hank.

 

Mickey and Hank were called all kinds of names and just hoped in this shotgun culture, a shotgun did not show itself. You see they had to survey to find the right of way for the electric power line company who employed them to come through preparing the power line path.

 

This work was carried out, keeping in mind the safety of the workers, the customer, nature, and the environment. This was not appreciated when they began assessing the trees that needed to be trimmed and some just needed to go.

 

Mickey has some interesting tales of incidents that happened with him and his coworker Hank. He had to work outside in all kinds of weather. What seemed to be a usual Vermont snowy day grew to be a high risk day. We will read about a dangerous snow day with hazardous driving conditions.