ears ago we had a lot more trouble in storms and we would work when it’s raining. I would get wet. And then at night, in the dark, I could see the blue electricity run up my gloves and around on my wrists and run up my neck. I’m doing something that most people can’t do. That gives me an identity.

If you know what you’re doing, you don’t have to be afraid of it. You just have to be aware. Whatever happens, I gotta maintain my cool too. Even if something starts falling apart, it can’t rattle you. I gotta be able to deal with it and keep everything safe.

I just knew that I didn’t want to work inside a building all my life. I gotta get out of here. I’m an outside person. You’re sure lucky to work outside when it’s a beautiful day, the sun is out and it’s 68 degrees. But then it’s 20 below zero and the wind is blowing 40 miles an hour. So you gotta take the good and the bad. You gotta pay your dues.

All my life I have pushed myself. If I do the best you can, it’s as good as you can be. If I see somebody doing something, I try to do it better. It gives me a good feeling if somebody says I got a job that needs to be done, and I know just the guy that can do that, and my name comes into their head.

I always had a natural interest for machinery, equipment running, being outside, and electricity. And they all come together in this type of work that I do. It’s part of me. Nobody put it there. It was there. It was totally internal. Work is only work if you’d rather be doing something else. And I like what I am doing. The bigger, the more complex the job is, the better I like it.

There isn’t anything about the job that doesn’t suit me. Everything’s fun. You gotta get high on life.

Stories from the Field