I spent Christmas day at home with my family. I had coffee, lounged about in my jammies and played with my kids in front of a roaring fire. A pretty blissful day in my book.
Outside it was dreary. It rained and got colder as the day went on. A few miles from my warm happy ranch, a crew of City of Columbia Water Department workers spent most of the day fighting with a broken water line. This week’s Thank You Project letter is for them. Sure it’s a job, but one that called them away from their homes, outside, in the rain, all day, on Christmas Day.
Dear City of Columbia Water Department,
While many of us celebrated Christmas day snug in our homes, I know at least one city water crew didn’t have that luxury. Water mains break even during Christmas.
I live in the Satchel Ford neighborhood of Forest Acres where many homes were without water most of Christmas day. What’s far worse than not being able to take a shower is that so many people had to work to repair that water main — for the majority of the day and into the night — on one of the biggest holidays of the year.
It’s safe to say, having clean water come from all the faucets is something we take for granted. It’s easy to forget how many people it takes to make good water possible. And we do have great water!
So thank you to all of you who keep us clean and hydrated. And, a special thanks to those of you who are always there for the emergencies, breaks and floods.
Whether it’s a plain old Wednesday or the year’s biggest holiday, I am grateful for all of the work you do for our city.
Sincerely,
Julie Smith Turner
The Thank You Project is a yearlong Wordsmith blog project recognizing people who need to be thanked more often for their many contributions to our lives and communities.