Why it pays to be nice

Because when a Ponderosa Telephone truck stops on your road (because you have one of the major junction boxes that are located every 4,500 feet) to check on phone connections for someone else who has no phone service--even though he isn't even aware your phone is out because it's not on his repair ticket, and you kindly (and somewhat excitedly ask): "Are you here to fix our phone line already??", and he kind of looks at you funny and says, "Uh, I didn't even know you had no phone service," and you sweetly say, "We haven't had phone service for a while either," even though you have no clue how long you have been without service, "and since you're here right now, would you mind taking a look at it?" and then he not only fixes the wires in the junction box at the road but also comes into the office and changes out this little wire-filled thingie (which the telephone company apparently isn't even responsible for...) and all you have to do is give him a can of Diet Coke because he's really thirsty and hasn't had anything to drink all day....

Well, that's why it pays to be nice...

Our totally scorched wire.... (on the bottom to the right of the blue wire)

...because of all these lightning strikes in a 24-hour period ending at 6 p.m. on October 4.

And now hopefully we can return to our regularly scheduled programming...