so the negatively charged electrons are not attracted to the earth until they are given a path, both to get to the earth, and return from the earth, i.e. the earth is only a conductor [ruins the picture I used to have of the earth as a mass of positive protons].
and re: a portable generator, it doesn't have a connection to ground, so if I were to split a cord apart and hold the ungrounded conductor to a ground rod, would nothing happen? no current would flow because there is no return path to the source, generator? the reference would probably be the generator frame?
