It's Not Too Early to Say "Thank You"

As I drove through the center of town with its beautiful lights and freely-flowing gasoline, I saw one place which was lit up and which looked somehow different from the rest of the thriving businesses in the area.

It was the Tolland Fire Training Center, and it was as busy as the gas station across the street. It's acting as Tolland's Emergency Operations Center, or "EOC," and there's a lot happening there.

I dropped in and said, meaning it from the bottom of my heart, "Thank you!" to Chief Littell and the crew who were there. I know from second-hand information that the hours the town personnel are working are astoundingly long. Their hours would make the heartiest of us cringe.

And yet they do it. Even knowing that the road ahead is long (and blocked with downed trees and power lines), these people are working for us, day and night, tirelessly doing the work necessary to clear the roads and to restore our town's power and other services. Judging by the attitudes in the EOC, it's obviously part of their DNA, though that doesn't make the job look any easier or go any faster. It's still very hard work.

At any rate, maybe dropping in at the center of the hubbub wasn't the brightest idea I've had recently. But I did--and still do--want everybody working this task to know that I appreciate what they're doing.

So I'll say it again: Whether you're reading this in the EOC during the ongoing work or after it's all said and done from the comfort of your home, Thank you.