It’s pretty easy to thank a policeman or fireman for putting his life on the line for us.

They don’t get enough praise, but there are some people who get even less.

In the aftermath of the storms this past weekend that knocked out power, fell trees and turned our roads into potential death traps, did anyone thank a road crew member?

Did anyone thank the guy that climbed down out of the power truck’s bucket?

Anyone thank a Red Cross volunteer?

While their jobs are not as dangerous every day, there’s a certain amount of risk involved, especially when facing down something as unpredictable as a storm.

As a county resident, this is my personal thanks to all the people who cleared roads and got power back to rural places that seem like black holes without it.

I’ve to admit, looking at the mess on some of our streets, those aren’t jobs that I would covet during hurricane season.

They and people who work for the Emergency Management Agency are on call around the clock.

I’m not sure I want to know all the things they have to go through to keep things running as smoothly as possible, but I’m glad they do it.

So then I got to thinking …

I wonder about what some of the most unusual calls emergency, cleanup and power crews get during storms.

I’m not real sure, but I can think of some things I wouldn’t want to hear over the radio or any other time:

“That’s right, the cat and my husband got thrown into the tree. But for some reason, my husband keeps telling me he doesn’t want to come down.”

“Come as soon as you can. And bring a pizza because we’re starving.”

“Is there any way we can stop by my aunt’s house on the way to the hospital?”

“Wow, that is a nice stethoscope.”

“What do you call that grabber thingy on the back of your truck? Oh, you call it a grabber thingy, too?”

“How high can the arm on your truck go? I bet there’s some guys that’ve gotten nose bleeds from that thing.”

“I’ll give you 20 bucks if you let me hit the siren.”

“He’s unconscious, but he’s still really annoying. ”

Followed by …

“After five minutes, let’s just throw him out … Yes, while we’re still moving!”

“I’m not really sure what that smell is, but as long as we don’t hear popping sounds, we’re OK.”

“Calm? I’ve been wishing that woman would blow away in a hurricane for years.”