Deciding to evacuate came later

Thursday morning thoughts:

I sit on John’s screened in porch  and see the squirrels and birds flitting around in the backyard. As the squirrels relate to the cardinals, I feel like a new person has just been dumped into their environment (meaning myself neither squirrel or bird) as I’m sitting here either nebulizing or coughing.) 

So my being has now become part of this South Carolina environment.

What do the squirrels and cardinals and Blue Jays think of this new noise maker? Coughs aren't quite like speech, sort of more like barks that dogs make.

I just talked to my son, Tai in Colorado, and feel he helped me understand that I am dealing with the severity of a disaster by having evacuated to my cousins house.

I have been quite concerned about having intruded into John’s private life being right here in his home. But I needed to be reminded that I am in need and he is providing what I need, air conditioning and flush toilets and electricity so I can use a C-Pap to breathe all night.

If I were to go home to Black Mountain, there might be electricity so I could cook and put things in the refrigerator. The C-pap would work again. I would have air-conditioning but no water. I am not ready to go back where I would have to go get drinking water and somehow some gray water to flush with every single day.

I could bring a carload of supplies to Black Mountain from here in Columbia, South Carolina. But I also would become another needy person in Black Mountain. I think they have enough people who are worse off than I am at this point.

My son Tai mentioned that after this is over, my cousin will be able to feel good about having provided a refuge for me. I had only considered how much I’m intruding on him. And it was very good for me to hear that others do get a benefit from helping other people in need.

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From Thursday on Facebook:

The Town of Black Mountain continues to have daily town meetings on the Town Square. If you wish to see one in action, the Town of Black Mountain Facebook site is showing videos of them.

If you bring in supplies, people are saved, but then they create waste! So 2 sites offered dumpsters, with a limit of 3 bags from each household. Oops, by Thursday at noon, this was observed...

So bears will have a picnic unless someone hauls them away pretty soon!

(Note: at Thurs. town meeting they said the company who provides these dumpsters is emptying them regularly.)

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So to report on Saturday’s fun.

I drove first to Tomahawk and took some shots, then went up a side street (Azalea) because a car was on my bumper. It was a street with trees down and I even drove across a wire down at one point, then I finally got back to Lake Tomahawk. It was at normal level full of brown water of course. So the flood damage inside the downstairs of the Senior Center didn’t show.

Craigmont Rd, that's the VFW on left, all just below Lake Tomahawk dam.

Amazing nothing disturbed the swimming pool, but debris is along the road.

Water overtopping the dam at Lake Tomahawk 9.27.24 early morning

Sept 28 9:30 am, high water mark in parking lot and the lake is back at normal level.

9.28 around 9:0 Azalea Rd.

Azalea Rd 9.28.24 9:40 am

Montreat Rd. 9.28.24 looking south towards the Little Store

Montreat Rd. 9.28.24 9:40 am. Cars actually took turns driving under that going each way

Then I dropped in on Teressa. That’s because we had no cell service.

I’m glad I did, because they wanted to tell their stories about the tree limb that fell on their roof then blocked their front door. I updated them as to what I heard on the news about Buncombe County having 130 water rescues during the night before. And we looked at my photos. Then Teressa wanted to charge her phone in my car. So we went out there and could talk without her husband always butting in (my experience anyway.) As we sat chatting a man walked by on the sidewalk in front of us, carrying 2 bags of ice. Teresa popped out of the car and asked him where he got it. The little store down the road, he answered.

So we drove down there and she stood in line to pay cash for 2 bags of ice. I took her home and went home myself.

I had one more outing on Saturday, to try to get water for the Blue Ridge Apartment residents...I've talked about it elsewhere.

Sunday morning:

Up around 4:30am because I went to bed at 8…got tired of playing solitaire with real cards by candle light.

As I woke I thought I should just go stay in a motel. But the roads are all blocked by landslides etc…maybe try to get to Russ’ house in Columbus?  I later texted Russ, and left a message.

I had figured out how I’d pack, how I’d take the pottery and table out of the car, etc.  It’s great to think of things as you wake up. No energy expended.

But now having sat in the car to charge the phone and listen to the miniscule amount of info on news, and checking google maps, I guess I’m ok to be here until things get better. Can I wait a week? No.

Maybe 4-5 days though. So I will act as if that is what is going to happen…and maybe be pleasantly surprised if elec is on sooner, as well as water is supplied.

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I didn't evacuate till Mon. around noon.  I donated a box of my Covid pantry food supplies and a half dozen packets of wipes, to the residents sitting around on the porch. My friend Helen came to help me load the car. And next door neighbor Rhonda helped too, so I gave her all my water jugs (2 gallons) and a gallon for grey water as well as a kitty litter bucket for grey water.

Before: looking down on US 74 from bridge of I-40.

After:

Same place during hurricane, with bridge of the Blue Ridge Parkway in the distance.

How information is shared when there's no cell service...

A welcome sight on Wed. Oct. 2 in Asheville.

From Facebook (as many of us share photos and updates there)... in case you want to know sites to help in Asheville (not Black Mountain)

As the flood waters recede in Ashville

the most effective way those of us who want to offer help to the survivors of this Hurricane, is through donating to the local organizations:

Beloved Asheville is regularly filling up their trucks with food, water and gas and distributing it in Asheville. Donations go directly to funding the food, water and supplies they are bringing. https://www.facebook.com/BeLovedAsheville

Mountain Mule Packer Ranch are taking strings of pack mules with supplies to hard hit areas that are not accessible by any other way. https://www.facebook.com/mountainmulepackersranch/

The Cajun Navy 2016 is bringing supplies directly to the people.

https://www.facebook.com/cajunnavy2016.org

Grassroots Aid Partnership - Another local, grassroots org that is cooking meals locally sourced and distributing in Asheville. https://www.facebook.com/grassrootsaidpartnership

Hearts with Hands disaster relief in Asheville - https://www.heartswithhands.org/

Asheville Dream center is setting up a large distribution center of supplies at the Asheville Mall.

Donate at - https://ashevilledreamcenter.org/

Manna Food Bank of Asheville - https://www.facebook.com/MANNAFoodBank

World Central Kitchen (not local, but doing direct relief work on the ground) is cooking warm meals daily and distributing in many of the effected areas, not just Ashville. Here is a link to their website, and it looks like you can specify in the comments where you want the funds to go - https://wck.org/

Today's quote (which I've not been sharing for a while!)

Spirit of Life and Love, be with us as we mourn. Spin a web of sadness in our hearts, that we might feel the plight of all aching beings. Spin fibers of gold in our souls, that hope might shine. Sustain us and move us into action fueled by the power of our love. Grant us the peace that comes from knowing that we did what we could. In the name of all that is holy, Blessed Be and Amen.

Yours in CommUUnity,

Rev. Lauren Levwood, Board Chair, UU Ministry for Earth

laurenlevwood@uumfe.org