You turn on the television or open your favorite social media app (or read predictions in the Sullivan County Democrat) and see that the weather has taken a turn for the worse. Increased heavy rain and rolling winds pump up the risk of flooding and downed trees - a recipe for darker days.

The features of such days include washed out roads that prove dangerous if attempted to be driven over, downed trees on power lines that jeopardize the electricity illuminating our homes, and even getting four tires stuck spinning hopelessly in the mud as the rain softens the dirt into almost quicksand.

The landscape is turned into something treacherous. Even the Delaware River is bereft of its usual glimmer, intaking an increased amount of dirt and mud from its banks and into the mainstream. Overall, it just gets gross.

And when the weather does get gross outside like it did this past weekend, it is good to stay inside where it is often safe and warm. But what happens if those dangerous events do take place? What happens when the lights go out and people cry out for the electrical static’s status quo to be restored? Well, that’s where the many brave linemen and women and community conscious neighbors come into the scene.

It cannot go without thanks for the many individuals across the county who went out into the storm to ensure the safety and comfort of their neighbors this weekend. Without their diligence and hard work, lurching trees would still be dangling above the roads, and the trusty way home might still be unavailable. Through hell or high water, these heroic people get the job done.

Now with the water receding to its usual levels and the small chunks of wood being all that remains of the logs that once blocked our paths, we are grateful for our first responders incredible work and their safety pulled through the storm. It is yet another reminder that when the community is in need, we can always count on each other to get through it all and see the sun shine once again past the oppressive rain clouds when it’s all said and done.