It's HOT!!!

Not much has changed since my last blog entry. We are still extremely busy, although, it has slowed down just a little bit the last few days. The temperatures are still hot and the water pressure is still up, so I am not sure why the mains aren’t blowing out like they have been. It’s good news for us and the citizens of OKC and we can use the break. Yesterday, I responded to a reported main break in the 3100 block of SE 59 at around 7:45 pm. It turned out to be a geyser on a 4” water main. It was rather interesting how much water a small 4” water main can put out. It was shooting about 25 feet in the air.

Speaking of the unbearable heat…….one thing that the media really stresses is to make sure your pets are kept cool and have plenty of water….and make sure we check on the elderly. Many times, the elderly will try to save on their electric bill by not running their air-conditioning. With temperatures in the triple digits, they need to run their AC. A box fan or ceiling fan won’t cut it. Another thing that I would like to stress to others is the great need to take care of their bodies….specifically, their personal hygiene. I realize it has been very hot and unbearable, but we do still have water and the stores do still sell soap and anti-perspirant. I have come into contact with a few people who have enormous body odor.

Not only is it disgusting to have to smell someone with body odor, but the worst kind is the underarm body odor. All they have to do is clean under their armpits with soap and water and then use anti-persparent. It’s that simple. If they are working outside much, or they sweat a lot, they may need to take two or more showers a day. There is absolutely no excuse to walk around with body odor. I can understand kids doing it sometimes because they don’t think about how they smell after playing outside……but adults? Come on adults….you know better. Take a shower and get rid of the body odor.

Well, this evening, several of my REACT team members are meeting at a catfish place at NW 63 &  Meridian to eat dinner and have some fun conversation.

http://www.centralokreact.org/

http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/OCFD_Citizens_Fire_Academy_Alumni_Association

Too Busy to Have Fun....

I have not blogged in 5 days, but there is a reason for that. I have done nothing but WORK. That’s right……I have not had time to do anything else. I worked late last Friday and worked all day Saturday. After work on Saturday, I was exhausted, so I went home and just rested. I was off on Sunday, so I made it to church Sunday morning and Sunday night and was able to catch a nap Sunday afternoon.

Yesterday, I was reminded that I had volunteered over a month ago to help cover a shift that evening, so I went ahead and stayed until around 7:45 pm. I left the office and headed over to one of the yards I mow each week. I mowed and was just finishing up my weed eating, when my weed eater made a weird sound and started smoking. Needless to say, my weed eater is now toast……so, now I have to buy another one.

This afternoon, I get off work at my normal time of 4 pm. I plan on spending some of my evening responding to water main breaks and getting some good pictures. I have another lawn I need to mow, so I may do that later in the evening.

Water Main Break Sunday on Chestnut Dr.

Like I said, not much has happened in the last 5 days, except for work. No motorist assists, no accidents, no REACT events....nothing.

http://www.centralokreact.org/

Busy Week!

What can I say? It has been an extremely busy week at work. So far, we have had around 80 main breaks reported…..and more keep coming. I have worked through my lunch every day this week in order to give my co-workers their lunch hours. It is really no big deal because I have nowhere to go on lunch….plus, it is too hot to go anywhere anyway. I have pictures, which I have posted on Facebook and will post a few on here. I try to arrive on these main breaks before the water rep shuts them down. If I get there after they shut down the main, then I have wasted my time. I especially like pictures of the ones that are shooting in the air….they’re the best ones!

Yes, I do this on my own time, but I usually limit myself to the south part of the city. I am not going to drive all over the city just for pictures. I stay south most of the time. If I happen to be north doing something and hear a call of a main break near my location, I will check it out….especially the breaks that causes the street to collapse or floods a street. If a street has collapsed, or is flooding, I try to use my truck to block traffic in order to assist the water rep as he is shutting down the water valves. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, I want to be able to help in some way.

With it being in the 100’s all week, my main goal is staying cool. Going out and taking pictures of main breaks and staying in my cool truck is what I like to do. I actually went over to a widow ladies’ house on Tuesday evening, around 7:45 pm to mow. It was still around 97 degrees and her house sits on a corner, so she has a large yard. I spent an hour and a half mowing….almost got too dark for me. By the time I got home, I was so tired and sweaty….and could not drink enough water.

This evening is our monthly CFAAA meeting. We are meeting at the Will Rogers Airport Fire Department this month. Each year, around this time, we meet at the WRFD and enjoy some time with their firefighters. They are not actually part of the Oklahoma City Fire Department, but our organization supports them as well. It’s fun going out there because they are so different from OCFD. Their rigs are different and bigger (because they have to be prepared to put out airplane fires) and they have certain types of chemicals they put on fires that the OCFD does not have.

As this week gets ready to end, I know I will be working late tomorrow and all day Saturday because I know we will continue to have water main breaks as long as the heat continues and we have no rain.

www.centralokreact.org

Another Falls Creek......is History

Another Falls Creek has come and gone. This is probably the 8th or 9th year in a row that I have taken a week's vacation and spent the week down at Falls Creek. I do it because I love the students and I love to see them make decisions for the Lord that will change their lives forever. I have worked with our students at South Lindsay for the past 10 years now. We have gone through around 4-5 youth ministers since I have been there, yet I have stayed through thick and thin. There are actually two of us that have stuck with it for many years. The students know they can depend on us and know they can talk to us about anything.

It was a hot week at camp, but many of us were still out in the heat walking around and playing sports. Many of the students enjoyed swimming everyday just to stay cool. The girls, boys and sponsors, all had volleyball teams. We all eventually got eliminated, but we had fun......and we drank lots of water.

Our cook, John, did an outstanding job as usual. The meals were very well prepared and balanced....and there was plenty to eat. If anyone left the cabin hungry, it was their own fault.

This year, our worship band in the tabernacle was The Dutton Band. They have a great style of music the students loved. The main reason we went to Falls Creek this last week was because of the guest speaker. His name was Ed Newton. He spoke to us last year at the Youth Evangelism Conference and the students fell in love with his message. They like him so much, that when they found out he would be a guest speaker at Falls Creek this year, they wanted to make sure we went the week he was there. They were not disappointed.

We did have many decisions made in the cabin, which made it a successful week for that. We only had a few minor injuries that I took care of and just a little drama. All in all, God did a wonderful work last week and I was so blessed to be a part of it.

I had to leave Thursday evening because Karla had a procedure scheduled for 8 am on Friday morning. She was due to have a heart monitor surgically installed. Her procedure was scheduled for 10 am, but due to a meeting her doctor was in that morning, the procedure did not take place until 12:30 pm. While we waited for the procedure to take place, I had my laptop with me and was able to go online and get caught up on some stuff. (I actually paid for Internet access at Falls Creek last week, but their wireless did not work most of the week, so I got my money back. Because of that, I had no Internet for four days....that was tough).

I actually hoped to get a little rest in on Friday, especially since I got very little sleep at Falls Creek, but that did not work out. After Karla's procedure, she recovered for about two hours and they released her at 4 pm. After running some errands and getting her home, I did not get to sit down and rest until around 9 pm. I went to bed early, but was too tired to sleep.

Most of the morning Saturday, I ran errands....and then came home to spend time with Karla and help her out. Actually, most of the day Saturday and today was spent at home with Karla. I did dishes, laundry and kept the house clean. I even got a nap or two in, which was something I really needed.

Tomorrow, it is back to work. I know the office was extremely busy last week with over 150 water main breaks. This week, my boss is on vacation, so we will see what the week brings.

www.centralokreact.org

Slow and HOT week...

Boring and hot!

Those are the words that best describe my week. It has been a very hot week, which means I have done my best to stay indoors in the coolness. I am also making sure my dogs get plenty of water and cool air by allowing them to spend the afternoons and nights in the house….at least until it cools down. I can’t imagine being a dog with so much fir…I would suffocate. I did get out Tuesday evening for 45 minutes and mowed a ladies lawn. I had weed eated and edged it on Sunday, so I mowed it Tuesday evening. It was really too hot to mow, but I did it anyway….and then went home to cool off.

I haven’t really taken any pictures this week, haven’t assisted any motorists (except my son who had car trouble on July 4th), haven’t assisted in any car accidents and haven’t assisted the fire department with any traffic control. Like I said, it has been a boring week…a week to stay inside from the heat. It has even been rather slow at work, which all of us are enjoying……..

Speaking of work……one more day and my vacation starts. When I leave the office tomorrow at 4 pm., I can relax my brain and not worry about my job for a week. I am sure I will have a ton of emails to go through, but I am hoping to keep a check on them during the week. So, where am I spending my vacation? It’s the one place I go every year about this time…Falls Creek church camp. For the past 10 years or so, I have been going down as a sponsor. I love working with teenagers and love to watch them make decisions for the Lord. The last several years, I have acted as the administrator in charge of organizing the camp. This year is a little different because we have a part-time youth minister who is helping me with the organization and planning.

It will be a full week of extreme heat, no sleep, lots of Bible Study, praying and worshipping. I am hoping and praying the students will take care of themselves and not get sick from the heat. I am also praying that our sponsors take care of themselves as well. I am not worried about myself…..I will be wearing a cap all week and carrying a water jug full of ice, cold water. I am looking forward to a great week…..although, I am leaving camp on Thursday evening. Karla is having her surgery on Friday morning (to have a heart monitor installed), so I am leaving camp on Thursday evening so I can be with her Friday morning.

This evening, I have a REACT Board Meeting, which is being held at my church in the conference room. Other than that, I will be spending the weekend putting the finishing touches on Falls Creek.

www.centralokreact.org

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Yes, Independence Day is upon us again and, as usual, I am at work. I normally have to work 3-4 holidays and this happens to be one of them. I would much rather work this day shift, though, so I can watch fireworks tonight. In the past, I have had to work the night shift and try to watch the downtown fireworks from my office window….not much fun.

Either way, it has been a very hot weekend, with very little relief in sight. I stayed until 8 pm last Friday evening because we were short-handed. It wasn’t real busy, but just busy enough to keep me from getting bored. When I got home, I got on the computer for a while and then headed to bed. On Saturday, I did my best to stay where it was cool. We had choir rehearsal at the church from 9 am – 11 am, so I was able to stay cool for a couple of hours. Afterwards, I had no plans, so I headed home. On my way home, I heard a call over my work two-way radio about a possible water main break. Since it wasn’t that far from my house, I responded.

When I arrived, water was gushing out of a hole in the yard. I stood by and spoke with the resident while the water rep shut down the main. It was the third main break on that street in a week. Just like I told the resident…..I can’t explain why mains break on the same street three or four different times in one week. In this particular area, the mains are only around 10 years old, so I don’t know why the main keeps breaking on the same street. I do know that the heat has caused more people to use more water, so the pressure fluctuation also has something to do with the mains breaking. Anyway, I stayed around until the rep got the water shut down and then headed home. I stayed inside all afternoon, enjoyed the coolness of the air, listened to OCFD on my laptop….and chilled.

At around 4 pm., Karla and I went to Applebees Restaurant in Moore……you see, it was our 30 year wedding anniversary, so we wanted to go celebrate and have a nice early evening quiet meal. Since her legs have been bothering her and she hasn’t felt well lately, we did not plan any kind of trip or outing. She had an accident several days ago and twisted her foot, so she is having to keep her foot elevated as much as possible. Plus, the fact that it was over 100 degrees outside kept us from getting out and doing something. Even the dogs stayed in all afternoon and evening.

Later that evening, I decided to go ahead and mow my front yard. It was hot and humid, with no breeze. In other words, it was miserable! I mowed and then went inside to watch COPS while I cooled off. After watching TV for thirty minutes, I decided to go ahead and mow the back yard. Mowing a lawn when it is over 100 degrees is not a good idea. I even drank a ton of water and I was still overheated. At least it is done for another week and won’t have to worry about mowing again until this coming weekend.

Yesterday was a very busy day. We had our 4th of July celebration service at church, followed by a cook-out after the service. We had hot dogs, hamburgers and great desserts. We also had a moon bounce for the children, horseshoes for the adults and volleyball for the youth. Unfortunately, since it was so hot outside, very few people participated in the activities. Even I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. By around 1:30 pm, most everyone had left, so I decided it was time to go home myself…kind of. My wife had promised a lady from church that I would come over and weed eat her yard that afternoon. I kind of dreaded it because I knew it would be hot.

My wife had called me after I left the church and asked me to go by the house and get her cell phone, before I went weed eating. On the way to the house, I had my REACT two-way radio on and received a call from one of our members regarding a house fire in Moore. So, I went on by my house, got Karla’s cell phone and headed towards Moore. By the time I got there, the fire was almost out. Three houses had caught on fire from an unknown cause. Some speculate it was fireworks and some speculate it was from grilling. I stayed there for about 30 minutes and then decided to leave. It was so hot just standing outside and there was nothing to do but watch.

I headed to south OKC to get my weed eating out of the way. It was really bad….it took me over an hour to weed eat the front and the back yard. I also went through an entire jug of water because it was so hot. I finished around 4:30 pm, so I headed home to cool off. At around 5:45, Karla and I headed over to her uncle’s house for a cook-out. We had hot dogs, hamburgers….and cobbler. After I ate, I headed over to the church. We had planned an outing for the youth, which included fried chicken and fireworks. After eating, we headed over to Valley Brook to set off fireworks. Since there is a burn ban in Oklahoma County, there are very few places to set off fireworks. Since Valley Brook is unincorporated, they pretty much have their own rules. Because of that, they set aside an area in their city where people could come and shoot off fireworks legally.

So, we went to Valley Brook, made a stop at the fireworks stand so the students could buy fireworks and then headed to the designated area to shoot them off. We were there until around 10 pm and the students had a blast! I did not buy any fireworks because I did not have the money….but it didn’t matter. I got to stand back and watch the students shooting them off. As a matter of fact, I did not shoot any fireworks off. I was still very tired and not in any shape to have to move around fast. When you shoot off fireworks, you have to be quick. Since I did not feel quick last night, I chose to be a spectator.

Today is the actual day to celebrate. This afternoon, Karla and I are going to a cook-out (along with several other REACT team members) to one of our members’ homes in Spencer. This is another small town that is allowing fireworks, so several of our REACT team members will be bringing fireworks. I am looking forward to a fun-filled evening.

http://www.centralokreact.org/