Surviving Helene

My photo, 10 feet flooding, my backyard

 Reflecting after 3 weeks...

(Yes it's both a rant and a thankfulness--it's impossible for me to separate at this time, and if that disappoints some, then don't continue reading. There will be more, so much more, but for now...sighs. This is what it is. I'll be back to myself, and lighter again. Soon. For today, for this post, I'm not going to pretend it's all okay.).

Things have, in many areas, returned to 'civilized'. I can't say normal, because we're slowly discovering what the new 'normal (a term I've never liked) is. Power, internet (spotty still), phone, mail, garbage pick-up, and water are restored--here. Gas is available as are limited groceries (mostly d/t the main grocery chain's distribution for the entire area served (several states) was destroyed).
The northern end of this county remains closed, a nightmare, and destroyed. Many people are still missing, and the 'rescue' is now 'recovery'. (If you don't understand the difference...rescue is hoping to find live victims; recovery is knowing when--IF--they are found, they will be dead).

Many stores, businesses, and private homes are closed--with no date for reopening. Ruined debris litter is stacked in front of so many places. (You should have seen the twisted exercise machines from Planet Fitness. You couldn't tell what some of it was). Some small businesses, I'm so afraid, may never return.

Lake Lure

Roads are mostly clear, though two-to-story-high piles of trees & debris remain, and probably will for weeks. Back and side roads are still 'try-at-your-own-risk'. Power trucks are still staged in the old mall parking lot. Chainsaws run all around me from dawn to well after nightfall (using vehicle lights). Heavy vehicles (front-end loaders, dump trucks, etc.) continue to 'muck out' the once shallow rivers around here--that now have new paths & beds.

US Interstate 40W, NC/TN states line

Most distribution sites are closed. Churches have 'call us if you need something' notices on their billboards.
The lines to apply for disaster aid called 'D-Snap' (food assistance) & FEMA aid (this county NEVER EVER had LIVE AGENTS on the ground here. DO NO ARGUE THIS WITH ME). I damn well know bc I f-ing live here--we are the 2nd largest county & never saw what Asheville did nor did any 'armed milia' threaten any government agency here) are miles, yes, MILES long.
Aid Phone lines are backed up for hours (I called for one of my student's family, and waited over 2.5 hrs. only to be told 'we are now closed to calls'--the next day, I used the 'agent will call you back when it's your turn' feature & never received a call back) and don't accept calls on Sundays; weekdays are only 8a-4p (they close the lines at 3p) and Sat from 9a-12p.

Photo by me, 10.7.24

Schools are back in session, and people have returned to work--here. Some places --here--look like Helene never existed: Jump Off Rock, for example. Bus service (such as it was, lol) has not resumed, nor has the recycling program. Trains aren't running. Private small planes and helicopter aid can land at the local airport, but the hangers are destroyed.

People are walking around in a daze. I'm one. We're the same and yet different; I see friends, neighbors, ppl I know working at the grocery store and we all have this same sort of vacant, damaged, uncertain expression.

We haven't had rain since Helene. That's a long space for this area, which is heavily agricultural. I think many of us are terrified of rain and will be for a long, long time.

But the sky is still filled with stars and northern lights (or was). The moon still rises, and so does the sun. I can still see the gently rolling mountains, hills, and valleys of this place that captured my heart when I was still just a tiny child. I can't imagine living anywhere else., even as I joke about buying a castle in Ireland or Scotland. It's getting colder, we had our first light frost, and I love watching the different colors of the trees--and leaves-- that still remain.

Northern Lights, Nov. 2024

I am blessed. Here. I have survived.

Footnote: I say 'here' a lot. Because I know if I walk down this road toward town, I will see the businesses and houses that once bordered the small creek and they are destroyed. If I drive a mile in any direction, the scars of Helene are everywhere: ruined buildings, thick dust and mud, broken trees, tarps, power lines left wrapped around tree debris. Towns around this one are NOT 'here' yet: even the biggest is just starting to get drinkable water in small spots. Some towns that used to be there, aren't anymore. It's not the area it was 9.25.24. It never will be again.

But here is home. And as Dorothy found out long ago, there really is no place like home.

God Bless WNC.