Here they come...

E-mail after e-mail to the radio station. Phone call after phone call from angry residents to our studio phones. And it's all the same thing:

"Me and my friends are out in our neighborhoods and we haven't seen one truck with
"D.P. & L." on it! They're not working on our power! We demand an investigation!!!!"

Now, I am not going to be an apologist for Dayton Power and Light here. And I have leveled criticism at them in my broadcasting career.

But, some of you folks need to take a chill pill...and fast.

Do any of you remember what we told you on Monday? I believe it was: "Dayton Power and Light says it could be the weekend before all of the power comes back on."

Come to think of it...I think we said that about, oh...a few hundred times since Monday morning.

So...what part of this don't you folks understand?

Hey...I feel your pain. My electric's still out...and just about all of my neighbors have theirs back on. They've got frozen food in their fridge. I just had to throw out a bunch of stuff from my freezer. They're watching Fox News on their TV. I'm listening to a portable radio with candles on in the house while we cook on a gas grill.

I just spoke with a person who is barely above the food stamp line, financially speaking. She said she doesn't want a hand out...but wants someone to refill her refrigerator's freezer. (If Neal Boortz were here he'd answer "and that someone, I assume, is government"!)

Have we become a nation that truly thinks we need to look at government to provide our every need?

Have we become a nation of wimpy idiots that can't handle electric being out for 4 or 5 days?

My God! When my grandparents were young, there wasn't even stable constant electric service! Imagine living back then...

If all your food has gone bad and you can't afford to replace it right now, go to a Red Cross shelter and get a free meal! Or, call one of your local churches...we have reported on a number of them who are serving at least a free evening meal. It is simply not beneath your dignity to do so. That's why those safety nets are in place.

And if your electric is still out, I appreciate your frustration. But remember...we've said all week this could take until the weekend to sort out. Take a deep breath, ask yourself, "what do I need to do to get through the next couple of days," and do it.

We weren't kidding.

Hey...I was a Boy Scout. I can handle it if you can.