I know I haven't posted in a while to keep everyone updated about our farm. To be truthful I needed a little break. I didn't feel like I had a lot of information to offer. I guess you could say I was in a farming slump. THEN, I decided that of all the weeks this year, this week was the most significant.
This past week and a half Western North Carolina has experienced the worst hurricane we've ever known to hit this part of our country. The pure devastation is absolutely heartbreaking.
I have to admit something. I've seen so many other natural disasters around the country on the news. I've seen the videos of the destruction of homes and businesses and roads in other locations. I've felt bad for people that have gone through that. I've donated to charities and said my prayers for them. Now I feel such guilt because I didn't do enough for them. I didn't care enough. I didn't have the empathy that I now have.
Our little farm and home are fine. We were simply inconvenienced with no power for a few days. Jeff had to cut up one tree in our yard. We have about 20 trees down in our woods that go over trails and block the way to the creek. But THAT'S IT!
The North Carolina mountains have been completely decimated. Jeff went to help cut down trees and clear roads one day and he said that it looks like a warzone. The mud that came from both the rivers and landslides is being measured in feet. This wasn't a once in a 100 year 'event'. This is a once in history disaster. Am I exaggerating - no. I'm not.
There were people found in buildings after days without food and water. Some people were found alive, and some didn't make it. Some people are still considered missing 10 days after the storm. People were clinging to anything as the rivers were sweeping them away. Livestock and other animals have been found miles away from their homes still just trying to survive.
The power won't be restored in some areas for a long time. The water treatment plants didn't make it. But the dams....the dams held. How did they hold? The only thing as far as I can tell was that it was truly miraculous. The Nolichucky Dam alone was built in 1912, but it held. That dam saw more water flow than Niagara Falls does. That fact alone is mind blowing.
What I want people generations to come to remember about this catastrophe isn't the amount of money that FEMA did or didn't send. I don't want them to remember the facts about how much government assistance was handed out. I don't want them to remember the quotes from politicians.
I want people in the history books to read about the heroes and helpers. I want them to read about the Cajun Navy that came to help. I want them to read about how the church came together collecting donations across the entire southeastern US and beyond. I want the linemen, firefighters, rescue workers, and police men celebrated for sacrificing their own mental health to help. I want them to read about the pack mules and horses delivering supplies. I want them to read about ALL the helicopter pilots that brought their personal aircraft to rescue people and deliver needed food and water. I want the history books to talk about how neighbors took care of each other when times were extremely hard. I want those history books to be full of survival stories. I want the history books to tell the story of Hurricane Helene and how the people of Western North Carolina survived.
And one day. . . .I want to hear about how we not only survived but we came back with a vengeance. I want to hear about how our tourist industry recovered. I want to hear about how the Blue Ridge Parkway was made even better. I want to hear how the Biltmore Village rebuilt. I want to go back to Chimney Rock and stand at the foot of that flagpole and not only thank God that we've rebuilt but also that we are flourishing. I want to drive through those little towns like Little Switzerland and Spruce Pine and watch people load up Christmas trees to take home with them. I want to go back to Hot Springs and Damasus and walk through town on the Appalachian Trail.
It will happen and I'm here for it.
We're still taking donations. I don't care where you donate; however, I do recommend a church. Winter is coming and these mountain people need warmth and shelter.
