NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Like millions of Floridians impacted by the wrath of Hurricane Irma, surfer dude Kem McNair hasfelt a range of emotions ending on a happy note this morning.
How or why?
"I have power!" he said.
"I called the Mayor of NSB, Jim Hathaway, one of my lifelong friends last night," McNair explained. "And he called me at 7:45 this morning. I want to thank him for a quick response and for helping me and my neighbors get the power back on this morning first thing! Thanks Jim!"
What a difference in demeanor compared to 13 hours ago when McNair and a few neighbors felt when their homes were apparently bypassed by New Smyrna Beach Utilities workers who failed to close a breaker on a transformer that left them in the dark while the rest of the neighborhood and beyond saw power restored.
"Well, now i'm pissed," McNair said. "The whole neighborhood has power except my house and the four surrounding houses. The breaker is open on the transformer on the power pole. I have been telling the utilities guys for four days that it was open and no one closed it. So heere we sit sweating like a pig. I drove around the whole of isleboro trying to find one utilities truck to close it but to no avail."
Kem McNair is shown riding a wave on a 6 foot 3 Weber Pig at the Inlet, in this vintage shot taken by a friend way back in 1971.
"I called the Mayor of NSB, Jim Hathaway, one of my lifelong friends last night," McNair explained. "And he called me at 7:45 this morning. I want to thank him for a quick response and for helping me and my neighbors get the power back on this morning first thing! Thanks Jim!"
What a difference in demeanor compared to 13 hours ago when McNair and a few neighbors felt when their homes were apparently bypassed by New Smyrna Beach Utilities workers who failed to close a breaker on a transformer that left them in the dark while the rest of the neighborhood and beyond saw power restored.
"Well, now i'm pissed," McNair said. "The whole neighborhood has power except my house and the four surrounding houses. The breaker is open on the transformer on the power pole. I have been telling the utilities guys for four days that it was open and no one closed it. So here we sit sweating like a pig. I drove around the whole of isleboro trying to find one utilities truck to close it but to no avail."
McNair's disgust was tempered somewhat by friend Bonnie Coffee Jones, who reminded him that he was "still better off" than his brother, David, to which he conceded: "Yes, David and Gina woke up to 6 inches of water in the house at 2:30 in the morning!"