55 days ago, Helene swept through Western North Carolina damaging and destroying much of what was in its path. It stole property and lives in a few hours.

We have a new appreciation for everything. We arrived in Black Mountain last night and dined at one of our most favorite places in town, Ole’s Guacamole. If you have been there before you know it’s THE BEST. If you haven’t then make a plan to go. Their Black Mountain restaurant sits on a creek and is the perfect place for kids to play while families feast in the outdoor dining area. The once babbling creek turned the restaurant into a giant pool bathing everything in toxic waters. The Asheville restaurant was destroyed by nearby river that’s not even that close, but water is going go where it can and that’s exactly what it did. Not to be outdone by some water, the staff at Ole’s regrouped and opened a temporary dining in it’s catering and event location. Ole’s was packed last night. We had to wait to be seated and we were more than happy to. Standing in the cramped doorway I surveyed the room. Real plates, silverware and glasses were being used! This is MASSIVE progress! Until this past Monday, all restaurants had to serve on disposable plates. We ate out but it was all to-go style. Monday we got word our tap water is now fully safe to resume consuming. BIG BIG deal, massively BIG deal! I ordered water and she asked if I wanted tap or bottled. I figured we now have developed a ton of immunities so I threw caution to the wind and went with tap. I trust our government and public works and drink the water. I am still here to prove it is safe. The menus are photocopies of the menu because every single menu was destroyed in the storm. This drives home the reminder that recovery is so vast, wide and complicated. I have tried so hard to make people outside of the disaster zone understand that the work is massive and unimaginable. All of it is so much. It is a lot to wrap our heads around. Black Mountain is a foodie town. We don’t do chain restaurants here. We are full of small locally owned restaurants, each with their own niche and handmade, often farm fresh locally sourced food. We know good food. Restaurant owners need to get back to making money to support their employees. Slowly and steadily that is happening. More restaurants opened this week after the boil water notice was lifted. This is progress. Black Mountain NEEDS you to come back. Shop in our stores, smile and tell people you support us. Eat, eat and eat. You will be glad you did!

A few days after the storm our garage was turned into a supply store for our neighbors, affectionally named “Wookie’s Store”. Many of our neighbors are retired and couldn’t get to the supply centers. I would guess at least 100 people donated to my request for emergency supplies. Folks across the country ordered and sent things to our house. We brought two full trailers along with 4 packed vehicles. Neighbors and friends came to get whatever they needed, often daily. It was a beautiful thing to witness. We loaded up the truck bed and went into remote areas letting folks take whatever they wanted from the truck. What an incredible thing to share your love with those in need.

We are in a different phase of recovery now and our neighbors are working on repairing their homes, some with extensive damage. They have each taken anything they can use and brought their friends to “shop” too. Sure, our grocery stores are open (if they weren’t totally destroyed) and Amazon is delivering, but money is tight and scarce. We need to reserve our resources for replacing things and when free supplies are available it’s important to take advantage of them. Today another recovery organization came and picked up the last of everything. I told them the kinds of things we had and he said they can use every single thing. He was thrilled when he saw the kinds of things Wookie’s store had. It was bittersweet to see it all hauled off. The garage of supplies represented a dark and desperate time in Black Mountain and also a place of joy, fulfillment and relief. I saw all of that on the faces of neighbors. Our town that was silenced and stilled by Helene, yet there were familiar faces and activity in the store. I loved neighbors rejoicing when they found their preferred flavor of Ensure, favorite comfort food or another pack of baby wipes which became lifesaving the absence of baths.

The emergency supplies are gone, and the garage is now full of the expected; my car. This is progress folks. This is how we count steps in Hurricane Recovery. Tiny, tiny shuffles forward, not even steps. We are all inching forward. People ask me if things are back to normal. Emphatically NO! Someone this week said she assumed it’s all fine because no one hears about WNC anymore. I won’t get on my soapbox about the lack of media coverage, but HEAR me, WE ARE NOT OK. Normal is not a word used anymore. I use the word “familiar” to describe progress. We are seeing familiar things now but it’s all very different than how it was. Most things were never be like they were. The scars of the storm are everywhere and deep in our souls. We are learning to work with what we have and figure it out. The car is in the garage, but so are other emergency supplies that we just won’t be parting with. Thoughts of power and water loss aren’t forgotten and some things will remain on our new “don’t be caught without it list”.

Black Mountain is cold and windy today and snow is in the forecast. The wind of whipping around last night and Facebook groups were full of folks triggered by the all too familiar sounds of a storm. There were new power outages and road closures. My mind was on the people forced to live in tent cities and tarped homes. Survival is being put to a new test this week and we are still figuring out how to help each other in the cold winter that is upon us, and we will because that’s what mountain folk do; we figure it out.

Progress comes in all forms. Eating out in a temporary facility, eating on real plates with silverware, drinking tap water and parking in the garage. Progress is relative to where you have been, and all of it is refreshing and hopeful. We are Western North Carolina Strong and the entire area remains Brave in All Things.

© Gatewood Campbell, November 2024