Craig Crumpton
08-07-2001, 08:19 AM
No one probably noticed, but I was offline for a whole week.
To save some time explaining, I'm just going to post the IM chat I shared with Harley last night:
IMGookie: I was offline for a week - a freak storm knocked out power in Memphis for over 10,000 people
HarleyQ Bx: Ouch. Everything okay?
IMGookie: it's quite a story - last week was a long trial
HarleyQ Bx: Oh?
IMGookie: every member of my immediate family experienced some sort of personal tragedy, including myself
HarleyQ Bx: Is everyone okay now?
IMGookie: well, if the insurance comes through, yes
IMGookie: for me, not entirely - my car's gone
HarleyQ Bx: Yikes. What happened?
IMGookie: it was a lemon when I bought it
IMGookie: been nothing but trouble since
HarleyQ Bx: And couldn't handle the storm...?
IMGookie: I put it up for resale yesterday - I'm gonna lose quite a bit of money just to get it off my hands
IMGookie: the storm was just the beginning
IMGookie: the car had to be towed 4 times in 2 months
IMGookie: we came very close to losing the house
IMGookie: sorry to change subjects so rapidly
IMGookie: losing the car was part of my own "tragedy"
IMGookie: last monday, a serious storm came in from the east that caught us so unprepared, even the weathermen were caught off-guard
IMGookie: we never even got a warning
HarleyQ Bx: Wow. I'm sorry to hear. But the house is still kinda standing?
IMGookie: it started as an electrical storm and in the space of about 25 minutes, about 5 inches of rain fell
IMGookie: it was unreal
IMGookie: lightning struck a tree in our backyard and knocked a rather large limb onto our powerline
IMGookie: it snapped the ground wire, though we didn't know this until the next day.
IMGookie: we were in the dark for about 5 hours and it was still 95 degrees
IMGookie: when the power kicked back on, electrical current came rushing into the house looking for a place to ground out
IMGookie: and boy did it ever
HarleyQ Bx: oh, dear
IMGookie: it fried the central air unit, the fridge, the dishwasher, the microwave, the washer, and 2 clock radios
IMGookie: and in under 30 seconds
HarleyQ Bx: Holy...
HarleyQ Bx: Jeez.
IMGookie: I smelled smoke and went running into the hall
IMGookie: I opened the closet that holds the water heater and smoke was coming out from the side
HarleyQ Bx: wow
IMGookie: the central air control had completely melted
IMGookie: and was still burning
IMGookie: the circuit panel is in the same closet, so I shut off all the breakers immediately and thought it was over
IMGookie: then mom cried out that smoke was coming out of the laundry room
IMGookie: so I ran in there, trying to locate the source
IMGookie: I didn't know that we had 2 separate circuit panels for the house
IMGookie: I thought the power was off and that something had simply ignited in the laundry room
HarleyQ Bx: Man.
IMGookie: so I quickly tracked down the source of the smoke - it was behind the washer
IMGookie: because of all the smoke, I couldn't see well and I knew i had to put it out quick, whatever it was
IMGookie: I repositioned myself to get a better look behind the washer when my left hand brushed the faucet handle for the water going into the washer
IMGookie: the ground wire for the washer had gotten caught in the handle and several hundred volts of electricity shot through my hand
IMGookie: the wire was completely fried
IMGookie: and so was my hand
IMGookie: i couldn't move even a finger or my hand at all for nearly 15 minutes
IMGookie: and even a few days later, it was still tingling
IMGookie: seems to be okay now, though it's sore
HarleyQ Bx: I'm glad it wasn't worse.
IMGookie: if I'd grabbed the handle rather than just brushing it, I'd probably be dead
IMGookie: every bit of electricity in the house was running through that faucet handle at that moment
IMGookie: even if mom had been able to pull me off of it, I really don't think I'd have lived
IMGookie: not with that much voltage running through my body
IMGookie: anyway, while I was there clutching my hand in pain, mom picks this moment to tell me that there's a second circuit panel
IMGookie: she reaches up and shuts off the remaining breakers
HarleyQ Bx: oy
IMGookie: when the power first went out, we talked about going down the street to the grandparents - they still had power
IMGookie: if we had not been home to shut off the power when the electricity came back on, I don't doubt the house would now be a smoking ruin
HarleyQ Bx: Good thing everyone was there then. Everyone's okay? Physically?
IMGookie: with all that electricity trying to come out of the outlets, the resulting electrical fires would have started all over the house
IMGookie: yeah
IMGookie: it was just mom and myself
HarleyQ Bx: okay. Yeesh.
IMGookie: it was 2 days later before we got power back
IMGookie: like I said, 10,000 people also had theirs knocked out by the storm
IMGookie: and my cable line didn't get reconnected until today
IMGookie: but it gets better....... (or worse, actually)
IMGookie: the day we finally got some temporary power restored, I got a call from Jon's [my brother] wife - his wallet was stolen
IMGookie: and his bank account was emptied
IMGookie: fortunately, the bank has covered this by now
IMGookie: but it happened the same day his rent was due
IMGookie: and no sooner had I got off the phone with Jon's wife when my older brother called
HarleyQ Bx: Ah, geez.
IMGookie: they were on a trip to Pennsylvania when they got a call from his sister in law
IMGookie: she was checking in on their house....
HarleyQ Bx: yeah?
IMGookie: a pipe broke in their upstairs bathroom and flooded the downstairs with 7 inches of water
IMGookie: all the downstairs ceilings fell in
IMGookie: nearly all the furniture was ruined
IMGookie: they lost several major appliances and a really nice piano
IMGookie: and it destroyed my brother's computer desk, as well as the new computer he had bought just a few months before
IMGookie: early estimates at the damage are over $12 thousand dollars
HarleyQ Bx: Wow.
IMGookie: he only had the house insured for around that much
IMGookie: and they aren't even done with the estimates yet
HarleyQ Bx: God. I'm sorry to hear about all of this. I hope they're able to recover.
IMGookie: they had to end their trip early to get home to survey the damage
IMGookie: he called today - he'd just walked in the front door of his house and said that it just broke his heart
IMGookie: it looked like the downstairs had been gutted
IMGookie: I think insurance will cover most of it for them, unfortunately, right now the kids have no beds
IMGookie: but they have a lot of friends in the area who've opened their homes to them
IMGookie: I think he'll do okay and, knowing him, probably come out smelling like a rose
HarleyQ Bx: Lucky guy, eh?
IMGookie: he's a living miracle anyway, after that van fell on him
IMGookie: not just on him, on his head
HarleyQ Bx: Well, it's good that someone's watching over him.
IMGookie: tru dat
HarleyQ Bx: I remember. He is a lucky guy.
IMGookie: anyway, so it's been a rather rough week
IMGookie: I was supposed to have moved and started my new job over a week ago, but I kinda had to put it all on hold
IMGookie: I'm leaving in the morning
IMGookie: and we start touring in about 16 days
=====================================
Sorry I couldn't announce this sooner, but I tried. I've taken the job as (something akin to a) road manager for Acappella, the professional vocal group I got to travel with earlier this year. I wasn't due to leave for another week, but the company prez asked if I could come earlier. Had it not been for the "Act of God" delays, I would have been there well over a week ago.
Here's a recap, for those who don't know:
This past March, I was asked to travel with Christian music group "Acappella" ( acappella.com ) as part of their road crew. I've been a fan of the group since '89, own everything they've ever recorded and am on a first-name basis with everyone in their ministry.
I made quick arrangements and within a week, I was on tour with them through May.
During the spring tour with Acappella, the members of the group approached me (as well as the president of the ministry) and asked me to serve as their road manager when they leave for their fall tour.
As of June, the company was not able to hire me as "road manager", but I will instead serve as assistant road manager, with primary duties in making the daily schedule for the group, overseeing the truck that carries their equipment, and will lead the group "Kenosis" which opens for Acappella (made up of the other members of the road crew).
It's an opportunity I've always dreamed of and I'm convinced it's perfect timing for this time in my life. (I'm even co-writing a song with Acappella's baritone that could very well make it onto the album they're planning for the fall of 2002.)
We'll be primarily touring the New England area this fall, but will have concert dates in the surrounding states as well. If anyone reading this lives in or around these areas, feel free to e-mail me and I'll get you the concert schedule and help get you free tickets to the show. (Provided you're not bringing a group of more than 4 people. I have to be reasonable about this.)
Or you can view the tentative schedule here:
http://acappellanetwork.com/acatour.htm
And confirmed concert dates here:
http://inconcert.org/concerts.phtml
Click on the drag-down menu for "Show All Headline Artists" and scroll down to Acappella, then click on the "Find" button" to find the listings and details for all confirmed tour dates.
I still should be online with some free time after hours at the studio, and I hope to have quite a few articles for TZ's news page before the tour starts and I'm only able to go online to do what I'm getting paid to do.
Sorry this is all so sudden, but if I could have gotten advance word out, I would have.
Gookie
--thankful just to be alive to post this.
To save some time explaining, I'm just going to post the IM chat I shared with Harley last night:
IMGookie: I was offline for a week - a freak storm knocked out power in Memphis for over 10,000 people
HarleyQ Bx: Ouch. Everything okay?
IMGookie: it's quite a story - last week was a long trial
HarleyQ Bx: Oh?
IMGookie: every member of my immediate family experienced some sort of personal tragedy, including myself
HarleyQ Bx: Is everyone okay now?
IMGookie: well, if the insurance comes through, yes
IMGookie: for me, not entirely - my car's gone
HarleyQ Bx: Yikes. What happened?
IMGookie: it was a lemon when I bought it
IMGookie: been nothing but trouble since
HarleyQ Bx: And couldn't handle the storm...?
IMGookie: I put it up for resale yesterday - I'm gonna lose quite a bit of money just to get it off my hands
IMGookie: the storm was just the beginning
IMGookie: the car had to be towed 4 times in 2 months
IMGookie: we came very close to losing the house
IMGookie: sorry to change subjects so rapidly
IMGookie: losing the car was part of my own "tragedy"
IMGookie: last monday, a serious storm came in from the east that caught us so unprepared, even the weathermen were caught off-guard
IMGookie: we never even got a warning
HarleyQ Bx: Wow. I'm sorry to hear. But the house is still kinda standing?
IMGookie: it started as an electrical storm and in the space of about 25 minutes, about 5 inches of rain fell
IMGookie: it was unreal
IMGookie: lightning struck a tree in our backyard and knocked a rather large limb onto our powerline
IMGookie: it snapped the ground wire, though we didn't know this until the next day.
IMGookie: we were in the dark for about 5 hours and it was still 95 degrees
IMGookie: when the power kicked back on, electrical current came rushing into the house looking for a place to ground out
IMGookie: and boy did it ever
HarleyQ Bx: oh, dear
IMGookie: it fried the central air unit, the fridge, the dishwasher, the microwave, the washer, and 2 clock radios
IMGookie: and in under 30 seconds
HarleyQ Bx: Holy...
HarleyQ Bx: Jeez.
IMGookie: I smelled smoke and went running into the hall
IMGookie: I opened the closet that holds the water heater and smoke was coming out from the side
HarleyQ Bx: wow
IMGookie: the central air control had completely melted
IMGookie: and was still burning
IMGookie: the circuit panel is in the same closet, so I shut off all the breakers immediately and thought it was over
IMGookie: then mom cried out that smoke was coming out of the laundry room
IMGookie: so I ran in there, trying to locate the source
IMGookie: I didn't know that we had 2 separate circuit panels for the house
IMGookie: I thought the power was off and that something had simply ignited in the laundry room
HarleyQ Bx: Man.
IMGookie: so I quickly tracked down the source of the smoke - it was behind the washer
IMGookie: because of all the smoke, I couldn't see well and I knew i had to put it out quick, whatever it was
IMGookie: I repositioned myself to get a better look behind the washer when my left hand brushed the faucet handle for the water going into the washer
IMGookie: the ground wire for the washer had gotten caught in the handle and several hundred volts of electricity shot through my hand
IMGookie: the wire was completely fried
IMGookie: and so was my hand
IMGookie: i couldn't move even a finger or my hand at all for nearly 15 minutes
IMGookie: and even a few days later, it was still tingling
IMGookie: seems to be okay now, though it's sore
HarleyQ Bx: I'm glad it wasn't worse.
IMGookie: if I'd grabbed the handle rather than just brushing it, I'd probably be dead
IMGookie: every bit of electricity in the house was running through that faucet handle at that moment
IMGookie: even if mom had been able to pull me off of it, I really don't think I'd have lived
IMGookie: not with that much voltage running through my body
IMGookie: anyway, while I was there clutching my hand in pain, mom picks this moment to tell me that there's a second circuit panel
IMGookie: she reaches up and shuts off the remaining breakers
HarleyQ Bx: oy
IMGookie: when the power first went out, we talked about going down the street to the grandparents - they still had power
IMGookie: if we had not been home to shut off the power when the electricity came back on, I don't doubt the house would now be a smoking ruin
HarleyQ Bx: Good thing everyone was there then. Everyone's okay? Physically?
IMGookie: with all that electricity trying to come out of the outlets, the resulting electrical fires would have started all over the house
IMGookie: yeah
IMGookie: it was just mom and myself
HarleyQ Bx: okay. Yeesh.
IMGookie: it was 2 days later before we got power back
IMGookie: like I said, 10,000 people also had theirs knocked out by the storm
IMGookie: and my cable line didn't get reconnected until today
IMGookie: but it gets better....... (or worse, actually)
IMGookie: the day we finally got some temporary power restored, I got a call from Jon's [my brother] wife - his wallet was stolen
IMGookie: and his bank account was emptied
IMGookie: fortunately, the bank has covered this by now
IMGookie: but it happened the same day his rent was due
IMGookie: and no sooner had I got off the phone with Jon's wife when my older brother called
HarleyQ Bx: Ah, geez.
IMGookie: they were on a trip to Pennsylvania when they got a call from his sister in law
IMGookie: she was checking in on their house....
HarleyQ Bx: yeah?
IMGookie: a pipe broke in their upstairs bathroom and flooded the downstairs with 7 inches of water
IMGookie: all the downstairs ceilings fell in
IMGookie: nearly all the furniture was ruined
IMGookie: they lost several major appliances and a really nice piano
IMGookie: and it destroyed my brother's computer desk, as well as the new computer he had bought just a few months before
IMGookie: early estimates at the damage are over $12 thousand dollars
HarleyQ Bx: Wow.
IMGookie: he only had the house insured for around that much
IMGookie: and they aren't even done with the estimates yet
HarleyQ Bx: God. I'm sorry to hear about all of this. I hope they're able to recover.
IMGookie: they had to end their trip early to get home to survey the damage
IMGookie: he called today - he'd just walked in the front door of his house and said that it just broke his heart
IMGookie: it looked like the downstairs had been gutted
IMGookie: I think insurance will cover most of it for them, unfortunately, right now the kids have no beds
IMGookie: but they have a lot of friends in the area who've opened their homes to them
IMGookie: I think he'll do okay and, knowing him, probably come out smelling like a rose
HarleyQ Bx: Lucky guy, eh?
IMGookie: he's a living miracle anyway, after that van fell on him
IMGookie: not just on him, on his head
HarleyQ Bx: Well, it's good that someone's watching over him.
IMGookie: tru dat
HarleyQ Bx: I remember. He is a lucky guy.
IMGookie: anyway, so it's been a rather rough week
IMGookie: I was supposed to have moved and started my new job over a week ago, but I kinda had to put it all on hold
IMGookie: I'm leaving in the morning
IMGookie: and we start touring in about 16 days
=====================================
Sorry I couldn't announce this sooner, but I tried. I've taken the job as (something akin to a) road manager for Acappella, the professional vocal group I got to travel with earlier this year. I wasn't due to leave for another week, but the company prez asked if I could come earlier. Had it not been for the "Act of God" delays, I would have been there well over a week ago.
Here's a recap, for those who don't know:
This past March, I was asked to travel with Christian music group "Acappella" ( acappella.com ) as part of their road crew. I've been a fan of the group since '89, own everything they've ever recorded and am on a first-name basis with everyone in their ministry.
I made quick arrangements and within a week, I was on tour with them through May.
During the spring tour with Acappella, the members of the group approached me (as well as the president of the ministry) and asked me to serve as their road manager when they leave for their fall tour.
As of June, the company was not able to hire me as "road manager", but I will instead serve as assistant road manager, with primary duties in making the daily schedule for the group, overseeing the truck that carries their equipment, and will lead the group "Kenosis" which opens for Acappella (made up of the other members of the road crew).
It's an opportunity I've always dreamed of and I'm convinced it's perfect timing for this time in my life. (I'm even co-writing a song with Acappella's baritone that could very well make it onto the album they're planning for the fall of 2002.)
We'll be primarily touring the New England area this fall, but will have concert dates in the surrounding states as well. If anyone reading this lives in or around these areas, feel free to e-mail me and I'll get you the concert schedule and help get you free tickets to the show. (Provided you're not bringing a group of more than 4 people. I have to be reasonable about this.)
Or you can view the tentative schedule here:
http://acappellanetwork.com/acatour.htm
And confirmed concert dates here:
http://inconcert.org/concerts.phtml
Click on the drag-down menu for "Show All Headline Artists" and scroll down to Acappella, then click on the "Find" button" to find the listings and details for all confirmed tour dates.
I still should be online with some free time after hours at the studio, and I hope to have quite a few articles for TZ's news page before the tour starts and I'm only able to go online to do what I'm getting paid to do.
Sorry this is all so sudden, but if I could have gotten advance word out, I would have.
Gookie
--thankful just to be alive to post this.