Letter to the Editor: Thanks, AEP

BY Tom Mulkeen, Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
11/18/12 at 3:39 AM

I want to give a shout from my wife, myself and our neighbors for AEP Public Service Co. of Oklahoma and the fine men who represented the company and Oklahoma here. Although we evacuated for the two days of the storm, we had 10 more days of no power, no heat except from the fireplace, no light except from sunlight and candles, especially after the batteries went dead.

We were lucky, our home survived the rising sea water by less than two inches. We lost insulation, a condenser unit, etc. - but not our home, which unfortunately many people have lost.

At 3:45 p.m. Nov. 9, a convoy of AEP trucks from Oklahoma rolled down our street and came to a stop. They gathered in front of our house studying the grid, and went to work. At 7:45 p.m., there was a knock on our door, and we were told to throw the switch. Light, heat, Internet, TV, fantastic! We cheered.

I want to acknowledge these fine men, young and old, and in between. They were personable, friendly, upbeat and serious about their work. Oklahoma and AEP should be proud. I am 59 years old and I am happy and confident in the future when I know that there are fine people like the people of Oklahoma in this world.

A few names; there was Andy and there was Mike, whose picture I took during a break on the dunes down the street by the ocean.

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Associated Images:

AEP-PSO trucksand workers arrive in Point PleasantBeach, N.J., to help repair utilitiesafter the area was damaged by HurricaneSandy. Courtesy