A TV interview with a man outside his destroyed home and business.
Yes, many efforts have been made in the last month to bring back some of the order of roads that are connecting us. The biggest benefit remains how people came together with their neighbors (most for the first time) in this catastrophe throughout western North Carolina. Much remains to be done however.
It's nice that these grounds had little damage from the storms. Kind of makes me grateful to live here!
While in my neck of the woods, some pretty leaves still give color around the buildings.
Here is a video of Jennifer Berezan and others as they made her 2- hour long CD 10 years ago. "A Song for All Beings" Video is just six minutes.
In these Arms
A Song for all Beings
© (p) Jennifer Berezan
I cannot turn my eyes, I cannot count the cost
Of all that has been broken, all that has been lost
I cannot understand, the suffering that life brings
War and hate and hunger
And a million other things
When I've done all that I can
And I try to do my part
Let sorrow be a doorway
Into an open heart
And the light on the hills is full of mercy
The wind in the trees it comes to save me
This silence it will never desert me
I long to hold the whole world in these arms
May all beings be happy
May all beings be safe
May all beings everywhere be free
And here's the 2:15 hour concert: Song for All Beings
I listened to the whole concert...admittedly in short bursts. I loved it so much!
Today's quote:
When wealth is passed off as merit, bad luck is seen as bad character. This is how ideologues justify punishing the sick and the poor. But poverty is neither a crime nor a character flaw. Stigmatize those who let people die, not those who struggle to live.
-Sarah Kendzior, journalist and author (b. 1 Sep 1978)
...I have been watch YouTube videos of the cleanup and and reconstruction work. In some instances they have make amazing progress.
ReplyDeleteYes. Many areas have good progress. The rehab work is to have safety and shelter first of course. And then maybe first they have to have a way to get places, so roads and streams have to be addressed. All the debris I showed the other day along US 70 was picked up the following day by one truck with a grabber arm, and many dump trucks to haul it away. Amazing that it takes so long, but it shows that our catastrophe was so spread throughout the region. And where things have been brought back to normal, we're encouraging people to come to retail outlets and spend their money so the stores and restaurants can survive. This time we want tourists!
DeleteSuch destruction, but tg your neighbourhood was spared. You needed that.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely showed me how much I may be in a safe home, but the infrastructure of the town and sources of electricity and water are elsewhere.
DeleteI have followed much of the disaster and recovery on videos too. My heart just breaks for all of them. And now cold weather is coming. It is almost too much to wrap my head around. I am glad that some places at least were spared, like your little haven.
ReplyDeleteI imagine lots of the "vacation homes" built up on slopes are ok, but may have lost driveways, as well as access to things needed. This is the time of year that attracts visitors, but I haven't heard about any of them. I'm glad FEMA and several non-profits have provided small trailers and campers for folks to put on their land rather than tents. I also heard 60 heaters had been disbursed...propane, with bottles of propane.
DeleteI'm sure people are impatient. I couldn't imagine. So much to rebuild, though. It has to be done safely. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI always look at the dates that a news clip gives, as some are still early October, and so much has changed. Some well meaning person dropped a pile of clothes, blankets and food stuffs on the office porch...most of the food has expiration dates a few years ago. Most of us have no need for clothes and blankets. But I can imagine that's the list that people have and follow.
DeleteI’m glad your neighborhood escaped the disaster, other than the inconvenience of losing utilities. Damage to North Carolina is heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteI did leave after 4 days because I needed electricity, so I didn't go through the 14 or so days that my neighbors did, cooking on little charcoal grills at the office patio, or eating food that was given by various non-profits providing it in central locations.
DeleteWhere will people rebuild..as it cannot make sense to rebuild on the same sites now?
ReplyDeleteFEMA won't provide assistance to build in a flood prone area...where most of the lost houses are. If you owned property there, what would you do? I don't have an answer.
DeleteI hope the area will be restored. It will take time but people seem to be helping each other. I just can't imagine how long it will take, years maybe.
ReplyDeleteThere are some good thinkers around, talking about building energy efficient homes, that can be more friendly to the environment. Yes, I would imagine years. When I heard 70 children started back to school in our county who were homeless, I felt the extent of our losses.
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