New Beginnings
Subtitle: “Tamarack Meadows”

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. – Psalm 46:4

As noted in the preface to Lessons Learned, February 27, 1967 was my entry date working for Southern California Edison Company.  It was one of many “new beginnings” for me.  Prior to that, my employment centered around being an auto mechanic.  In high school I worked after school in various service stations, which were not like today’s mere self-service gas stops.  Back in the day, a service station attendant – aka “pump jockey” – did much more than just fill the gas tank.  I worked a lot on cars back then, owning my first car at age 14, and logging in many hours with my buddies taking apart and rebuilding various American and European cars.  Over time I rallied my self-taught knowledge into becoming a line mechanic in several foreign car repair shops.  But all this is a backstory to my main career that started when I succumbed to my step-father’s prodding to seek employment with Southern California Edison. 

At that time my step-father had retired from Edison after a lengthy electrical test-technician career.  He ended his time with Edison as the Supervisor of Shop and Test located in Alhambra near the Energy Control Center. My 30 years with SCE was sort of a family affair.  Besides my step-father’s employment, I also had a step-brother who worked with Edison for a time, eventually moving to Arizona to work for Arizona Public Services.  In these Lessons Learned narratives I’m sure this part of my story will surface again. But for now, this is the point where my many Lessons Learned really begins.

I’ll never forget my first day on the job, hiring on as a utilityman at Redondo Beach Generating Station. After being introduced to the maintenance foreman, Wally Holman, I was given by a brief tour of the plant. Then I was handed a broom and a foxtail brush, escorted to the Plant One Turbine Desk and told to start sweeping here and leave no crack or crevasse upswept.  You see, that’s what a utilityman did, he pushed a broom and emptied trash, and at times used a floor buffer to make the red concrete shine! Yep, this was a new beginning!

Those first days were spent in wonderment amidst the immense steel girders and concrete walls- it was just overwhelming with the constant vibration and drone of the power generators and massive boilers, and vast array of steam and water pipelines and machinery.  I had no idea what the future had instore for me, or how I would find my place and fit into all this seeming blur that excited my senses! Reflecting back upon it all now, it was nothing less than an amazing journey. Through it all I formed a deep appreciation for the concept of God’s providence; now often telling others to look for little providential events in their lives, and log them away in their thoughts and enjoy them when they occur. It is those little providences that give shape and meaning to the whole. As such, I’ve adopted Matt 6:33 as my life verse with the tagline “Providence and Perseverance.” 

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matt 6:33

There are many unexpected twists and turns in my career path with Edison, which eventually lead me into the privilege of reporting to Larry Hamlin, the VP of Power Supply, and finishing out my career serving on the deregulation transition team.  Thinking back on all those events however, there is one moment that stands out in my memories that conjures up an illustration and metaphor for all that providentially transpired on the job. The event took place in Tamarack Meadows, located high in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range known as Big Creek. Big Creek is the home of a series of lakes, Edison built dams and hydroelectric power plants known for being the hardest working water in the world.   

So, what is a Steam Generation guy doing referencing hydro-electric generation?  Well, Big Creek was a common retreat area for many Edison employees seeking a camping getaway or hunting trip.  As this story goes, very early in my career I was one of several working at Mandalay Generating Station located in Oxnard, that planned and executed one such fateful weekend getaway that I’ll never forget.  Several of us were to make this trek to Big Creek going in separate vehicles, departing and arriving at different times.  As one of the drivers, I was unfamiliar with the area, but given strict directions and a map which I misread!  Near the designated Tamarack Meadows campground turn-off, I took the wrong turn and headed off in the wrong direction on a very rugged dirt road in my ‘63 Pontiac station wagon.  Night fell and ascending a steep hill the car overheated, and we (my two passengers and I) subsequently discovered that all the transmission fluid overheated and escaped as well.  There we were stuck in the middle on “who knows where,” in the middle of the night.

This was a period in my life when my faith was taking on a new start, and a principle called “the faith-rest life” was being tested to a deeper reality.  For whatever reason, I assured my friends we would get out of this – thinking to myself, I just don’t know how.  We opened our sleeping bags and turned-in under a starry skyline.  The next morning, I decided to walk out and find help.  Several interesting things transpired during that walk. But after several hours, still very deep in the forest I came to a “Y” in the road and stopped to contemplate what direction to take.  It is a good thing I did, one step more and I would have been run over by a very fast-moving off-road vehicle being driven by a couple of guys we were supposed to have met up with!  As they rounded a blind corner at that intersection, they panic stopped in amazement, yelling out “What are you doing here?”  I told them and they laughed out loud!  I asked them what they were doing here?  Well, they answered, the camp they set-up was in the opposite direction on the other side of the mountain.  After breakfast they were just scouting roads and “randomly” picked the one that they were unfamiliar with, and nearly ran over me in the process! The upshot of all this, they took me to town; we got some transmission fluid; drove to where my car and the other two guys were stranded – passing by a “four-wheel drive only” road sign I completely missed seeing the night before – replenished the transmission fluid; started up the old Pontiac and headed off to the right camp site.  There was much laughter that night around the ole’ campfire.  Looking back on this, what were the chances that two unintended paths would come together at an obscure “Y” in the road at that exact moment in the middle of Big Creek?

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God” –and I’m convinced that that river represents the forward going streams of Divine Providence, all working together to a purposed end.  How many a times in my life have I observed and continue to observe, read and hear of an endless array of random incidents of what can only be described as providential happenings, to the point that whenever I see others that are facing a decisive or fateful moment, I take joy in encouraging them, “Wait for it, and expect the unexpected. Let me tell you about Tamarack Meadows and the lesson I learned about providence and perseverance.”