Hurricane Helene and The High Country

 

 

View in browser Greetings, everyone— It's been a long time since I popped into your mail boxes, I hope you're all doing well. I just haven't had anything really newsworthy to share—until now. I have tried to write about what I'm seeing and hearing and feeling about the devastation we're living in The Western North Carolina High Country caused by Hurricane Helene. Who would have ever, in their most vivid imaginations, believed there could be such wreckage caused by a hurricane here in the mountains 300 miles from the coast? That's one of those situations a fiction writer would step away from as being too far fetched to be believable. I have been finding it impossible to wrestle my feelings and words together to make sense to write about it. Until... Seeing and hearing crazy wild misinformation and blatant lies that can so easily be proven to be blatant lies was apparently the kick I needed. First—Regardless of what you may have heard or read, FEMA IS here and actively serving people. Red Cross is on site. The National Guard is here. A FEMA representative pulled into our driveway two days ago to ask if we were going to need help. They were ready to help do an assessment right then. Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on THURSDAY 9/26. If you want the truth of things, please do not limit your news sources—DO your research. Truth matters. If you're still reading, here's our story about what started as a "normal" week which started out nicely enough. We drove to Asheville to meet up with dear friends from Georgia and a visit to the Chihuly Exhibit at The Biltmore. The four of us spent a couple nights in Downtown Asheville, had a nice dinner at Rendevous one night and pizza at Barley's (no relation) the second night. And a couple of deeeelicious Espresso Martinis at our hotel bar. The hurricane news was beginning to get dire, the rain in Asheviile getting heavier and we knew it was time to head back home—us home to Boone; Vickie and Brent home to the North Georgia Mountains. We left about 8 a.m. on Thursday and it was a long, stressful drive home taking us about an hour longer than usual, but everyone made it safely. Helene hit us during the night. We lost power around 5 am Fri. Morning, back on at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. No cell service. No internet until Sunday night. As it turns out, we were luckier than we knew. We tried to take a drive into town Friday but only got to the bottom of our road which was a mess. Meat Camp Creek has washed away a lot of the road on both sides. Because things at our house were not terribly bad we were shocked. Horrified to see what had happened during the 48 hours we were in the dark. As it stands right now, many roads are closed and will be for days and days to come due to landslides, flooding, many totally washed out. Still a lot of high water. Still tons of trees and power poles and power lines down. Still many with no power, food/water/basic supplies, or cell phone service. Many homes washed away. Some, sadly, washed away with residents in them. There are search and rescue missions continuing. A feat not easily accomplished in this large, widely spread mountain community with hills and hollars and country roads. We are grateful to be among the extremely lucky. We are in the minority in this area at this time. Our hearts are broken. And feeling helpless. And, honestly - a little survivor's guilt happening as well. Hard to be too upset over the very tiny small things like no power or internet when so many have lost so much. "Home" had always been of huge importance to me. It's more than just a word.. Its my nest I am constantly feathering. Filled with memories of a lifetime. And these two ❤ This quote resonates loudly right now: Balakrishnan Rajagopal wrote, “home is so much more than a structure: It is a repository of past experience and future dreams, of memories of births, deaths, marriages and intimate moments with our loved ones, amid neighbors and a familiar landscape. The idea of home brings comfort and gives meaning to our lives. Its destruction is the denial of a person’s dignity and humanity.” My home community will never be the same. That said, please try your best to put an end to the misinformation. It's helping no one. My friend and neighbor, Jill Smith, posted the following at Facebook, which I am sharing with her permission: "This disaster is traumatic and horrible. It continues to be and will be for a long time. It is sickening to me to see all of the misinformation being spread on social media. None of that helps people. If you are sharing something, please make sure it is real and correct. Look it up, research what you are saying from more than one source. Instead of being judgmental in posts affecting this event, have compassion for the people that are helping and for the people who are suffering. Our emergency services have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Our citizens have gone above and beyond with their dedication, hard emotional work and compassion. Trying to divide people with hate is not helping. We are all traumatized here. It just doesn’t help to look on here and see people who don’t even live here saying horrible criticizing things. Things that are not true and things that are just there to create anger. Emotions are already high here. People here are doing the best we can. We need help not hate." We need help, not hate. Please hold the victims of Helene in your hearts. So much has been lost by so many. Too many have lost everything. Literally. Everything. But with the help, strength, prayers, and love of friends, family, and neighbors, those whose lives have been impacted and so sadly altered can begin the small steps of moving forward with their lives. Sending good thoughts to you all. Take care, xxoo Kaye Meanderings & Muses Kaye Wilkinson Barley P.O. Box 1274, Boone NC 28607 United States You received this email because you signed up on my website or have given me permission. Unsubscribe