I don't know how far this story has gone but there's been a disturbing story about a lineman from Florida who was up on Long Island working to restore power. These out-of-state volunteers have been working 16 to 18 hour shifts re-stringing wires, installing new power poles, etc. in an attempt to get power back to thousands of homes that went dark as a result of the hurricane.

Well, it appears that this particular Florida lineman was punched in the face last Friday night by a guy who hit him and broke his jaw. This happened outside a restaurant just after the lineman finished a long shift. I was absolutely disheartened when I heard the news. The fact that it happened very close to where I live made it seem a little more "real" (if that makes sense). I was hoping they'd find the attacker and nail his ass to the wall.

Well, the news this morning is that the police arrested the perp (the puncher) but the details are a little different. The perp, who was thought to be an angry customer without power and just looking for an outlet for his anger apparently hit the lineman because the utility worker had urinated on or near his car in full view of the perp's girlfriend.

It doesn't really change that much. The lineman should not have been attacked but I am reminded now that there's always two sides to every story.

FWIW - police announced that the lineman, now recovering back in Florida, won't be charged with anything for the public urination.

sucks, but i can really understand the need to have to pee and not have a bathroom around. when i was younger and we went on a trip from nj to tennessee with my grandfather who was going senile at the time, i had to go really bad. my grandfather told me to go in a bottle and be a man! pretty shocking to a 7 year old. back on topic, maybe the guy who hit the utility worker just used the peeing incident as an excuse to get a good shot in, but who knows. as i got older, fights always scared me because all it takes is one good shot and someone can fall, hit thier head, and get seriously hurt or worse. one moment of anger can really ruin your life.

Yes sir, just like the last few months of the Presidential Race.

They say that there are always three sides to every story- His side, Her side and the TRUTH!

Hey, I understand that.... I've peed in public many times. What confuses me, though, in this case the lineman was right outside a restaurant (where he was going to eat with his friends). Apparently there were some angry words exchanged and the lineman kicked up some gravel (in the parking lot) which hit the perp's car.

Couldn't the lineman wait until he went into the restaurant?

In the general scheme of things, the public urination is not a big thing, but look what happened as a result of it.

Thank the Lord the lineman didn't need to go out the other end as well. Imaging sitting in a restaurant eating your meal and seeing him squatting outside in the car park????

Bad enough him piddling there

The Atlantic City Press has stories about Sandy and recovery everyday.

Today, a laborer was standing next to a front end loader and had his hand on the machine. The bucket came in contact with a buried electric wire. The charge knocked his boots off and threw him under the machine. He was not breathing and had no pulse. Police revived him and he is in the hospital.

Many boats were thrown on to dry land during the storm. The NJ State Police are identifying the boats and contacting the owners. 950 boats have been identified and only 15% have been claimed by the owners....hmmmm, do you think they want the insurance money?

I wanted to revive this thread to see how our friends are doing this many months after the tragedy. You are not forgotten and still in prayers. I hope those who were effected are doing well and things are on the way back to some kind of normalcy. God bless to all.

This should lead to president Obama issuing executive orders to limit the amount of beer a person can consume in a day. There also should be an executive order that you must piss in a toilet 5 times a day rather then just once or twice a day or face the penalty of a long prison term.

Seriously I think we should have the right to piss anywhere and on whoever we like. I believe it is in the constitution as long as we can back it up.

Yep this was discussed during one of our safety briefings up there while we were stationed at the Coliseum where the Islanders play. I had to sleep in a tractor trailer converted into bunk beds with about 50 other people! It sucked! Haha.

That was my first trip to the Northeast and I must say the story of the Lakeland lineman getting hit was rare to us because everyone was great to us. We started out in Worcester Mass working under National Grid for about a week then they sent us to stay in the trailers again at the East Hampton Airport on Long Island by way of the Bethpage Golf Course (which I enjoyed being a golf fan) then we went to stay the rest of the trip in the Islanders parking lot.

Here in the South everyone tells us "Yankees" are rude and nasty people but I'm glad to say that is bullshit! Boston and Providence is probably my favorites so far out of NY, CT, MA, and RI.

And I agree the lineman should have pissed in the restaurant as we were told he was just coming "out" of the restaurant so it just doesn't make sense to me. Plus we were always taught from day one that if we did have to piss in the open we always would open a bin door on the truck and hide in it while just pissing on the ground so nobody could actually see anything if you know what I mean.

There is one family that has sign posted outside their home, saying how even though home was devasted, insurance compaly only awarded them less than $200.
Some people still have no homes, it's a disgrace. During presidential campiagn Obama made a lot of proomises, so did some others. Election is over, promises are forgotten.

Hey I forgot what law it was on Long Island, but after we were transferred from Worcester to L.I. even we had gas/diesel shortages and we were told some law in N.Y. stops anyone from bringing fuel trucks out to fill us up like other states do during big disasters like that. We almost ran out of gas quite a few times because of shortages and we were there to cut the lights on!