10/06/24 23:00 Seemingly tiny but enormous truth.

Today I heeded the suggestions of many of you and turned toward some self-care. And on many levels this felt like an unfair indulgence. And I don’t have to explain why. You know. Because nearly everyone I’ve talked to feels the same way. We are all overwhelmed with the feeling of doing more, volunteering more, donating more. Like enough isn’t ever going to be attainable in this disastrous condition we all (and yes, I do mean all because I don’t believe anyone is really untouched by the ever-reaching affects of what has happened here in western North Carolina) find ourselves facing.

Nonetheless, some very dear friends of mine (if you’re reading this...you know who you are) offered some respite in the forest. A hot meal, time with friends, a general break from being inundated by the call for help. The most special part of this visit...included a walk on a trail in the forest that led to a creek. I so desperately needed to put my hands in the mountain water. To stand barefoot in the creek and feel it again. To hear the trickling sounds of it again...in spite of the reminder in the background as a helicopter flew overhead.

There was grief in my heart, there was grief in the air. And today was the first day since Helene arrived here that I could stand in the stillness of the forest again and listen. We grieved together she and I...the forest and the flowing waters and the rustling leaves on the ground. I’m tearing yet again as I write this.

Reaching out and touching a nearby tree after pausing to be present in this moment. There was a recognizable stillness, a calm about her. A very composed calm. And what a beautiful reminder to me that even the hardest things can be grasped after the initial maelstrom has passed by.

On the walk back...a group of the tiniest little purple wildflowers (not totally sure but I think they are called “Smooth Astor”) caught my eye. I stopped dead in my tracks. They were such a beauty to behold. And as I often do...I spoke to them.

“Well, hi there,” I said as tears welled up in my eyes.
“How did you beautiful little things survive this? How are you still here?”
And they said, “We are here to show you just how resilient Nature is.”
And I said, “Thank you for still being here and showing me this seemingly tiny but enormous truth.”

Photo credit: Dan Mullen CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

10/05/24 22:50 Self-care and the liminal space

I came across a t-shirt image today that I created a few short months ago. The image is sort of fun and cartoony. And the words say, “Self-care: hiking, kayaking, walking in the forest, listening to the mountain stream.” And then the tears came. Tearing up as I write this even now.

 

 

Yesterday I realized that I haven’t been in Nature to listen to the silence, to dip my hands into the river water, to gaze into the forest and feel her wonder since the last trip I guided down the Green River which was Friday, Sept 20^th. This was only 16 days ago and it feels like forever ago.

I went looking for a place to just sit with Nature yesterday and realized that the places that I would have normally gone seeking solace and sacredness...are basically boarded up (literally since trees are down blocking what used to be passable access to these glorious places...like Pisgah National Forest or Dupont.) Pisgah National Forest is now closed. Imagine this for a moment...the forest is closed.

As I sit and ponder this...I realize that I used to go into these mountains to wander amongst the trees and along the rivers and creeks for self-care and therapy for my soul. Nature was always there...opened armed if you will...whispering her wisdom. Always open.

Maybe now...I am called to return the favor. And even as I say this, imposter syndrome enters here. Who am I to return any sort of healing energy back to Nature?
Maybe this is what’s really been taking a toll on my heart. The fact that it appears Nature is broken. But is it? As I look around the devastation to the land here makes it unrecognizable. I don’t know this place like I once did. But isn’t she still there..her heartbeat?

I think this might be the exact thing I’ve spoken about before in other contexts. The middle space. The liminal space. That space between. Between the familiar and the unknown.

I wrote in a FB post on Sept. 8^th referencing change regarding the arrival of Fall:

“I don’t seem to fare as easily with change as Nature does. I’m learning...to allow and go with the flow...but sometimes I’d like things to stay the same for a while. And well...life flows much like the river. Always moving and changing and flowing down stream.

Yet at the same time I know change is good. Keeps us from growing stale or bored. Rest and reset is necessary.

Nothing here on Earth remains the same for long. There’s a reason for cycles. And today I’ll lean toward embracing the middle space where the end of one thing and the beginning of another dwells. And cheers to Nature for being such a master teacher of how to better human!”

Little did I know that not even a month after writing these words, Nature would embrace change yet again much better than I. Maybe that’s just it. Maybe I’m being called to figure out how to accept what is...maybe there is still beauty to be found there in her just as she is now? In all of my wanderings and the support Nature has provided to me..maybe now I’m being called to return the favor. Maybe in fact I need to go into forest and sit in this liminal space with her. Grieve with her. And learn to accept what is..and then watch as new life begins to grow again in the forests and along the rivers and creeks.

Maybe I need to pivot my perspective here. Could it be that I’m stuck in the idea that the beauty that I once found while hiking along the Daniel Ridge loop trail in Pisgah forest won’t be as I remember it? Stuck between the familiar and the unknown. How does one lean toward embracing the middle space where the end of one thing and the beginning of another dwells? Well, remaining open to new possibilities comes to mind.

This new landscape that we are all about to discover together over the next weeks and months and years..might just in fact bring us answers to these questions.

How utterly ironic that on the 26^th of September, the day that Helene arrived here in these mountains I read a poem by Polly Castor titled “Liminal Space” and posted this in a REELS video. I’ve watched this numerous times since...and I’m still challenged by the very words I read out loud.

Click here or on the image below to view this REELS video.

 

10/04/24 23:30 The sheer devastation that we are surrounded by is inescapable. It’s our life here now.

Things began to catch up to me a bit today. 

Not sure what the clinical term for what’s happening and I’m certain it’s not just happening to me. Shell-shocked is what I’d call it. Is when the actuality of what you’ve seen catches up with the reality of your mind and then your heart.

The sheer devastation that we are surrounded by is inescapable. It’s our life here now. You wake up and after the fog clears...you begin to hear choppers flying overhead. But I should also be more clear here...depending upon where you live...you may not be looking at war zone surroundings...but it’s unmistakable that it’s whispering all around us. You can feel it hanging in the air.

FB is loaded with posts about people loading up donations and heading this way. And please know...we are ALL extremely grateful for this...but what I’m referring to is the fact that WE are where they are headed. It’s a whole different feeling to be on the other end of this...to be gathering donations and to head this way to help. It’s a whole other thing to be in it day after day.

I’ve been very fortunate to not ever have been in a war zone. But while speaking to a friend of mine tonight at a fundraiser here in Brevard to benefit Helene disaster relief he said, “I’ve been in a war zone and this looks a lot worse.”

This is what the Green River gorge and the Green River Cove areas near Saluda, NC look like. Houses just gone. They were there a week and one day ago...but they’re not there now. The road was there a week and one day ago...but it’s not there now. (let me clarify...it’s not like the road was damaged...and can be repaired. No. It’s gone. There’s dirt and sand and mud where the road was before.

The map we create in our minds of areas we travel in and out of every day...these maps we rely upon and we rely upon the world around us to mirror these maps...until they don’t and suddenly what we are looking at doesn’t match out mental map.

I saw imagery today of places that I should have recognized, but didn’t...apart from maybe a smidge of remaining road. Example: Oh shit...that was the put-in! That was where we started our whitewater kayaking journeys and the parking lot should be there..but it all looks eerily different. Because the land is forever changed.

It’s almost like someone used the weather as a weapon to declare war on the land. Which also makes no sense at all. The natural terrain has forever been changed here. Places we once knew and went to for spiritual soul-filling exchanges...are forever changed. It’s like a family member has been harmed...and wounded...and exchanged for something unrecognizable.

How does one move forward through this? Some days feel like three steps forward and some days feel like four steps backward. I can attest to how we get through this. It’s the people that get us through this. Hugs and listening and talking and just simply sitting and staring out into the sky. We hold each other up. We cry on each other’s shoulders. We rant. We rave. We breathe.

Damn this mess. Nothing easy about it. And it affects us all.

10/3/24 18:25 Today was a different story because the desperation was being met

Lessons learned today on the ground in Brevard, NC

As more and more communities are beginning to receive the help they need (I’m referring here to when they had absolutely no help...to then having received delivery of some supplies...not that the problems were solved...just that some of the urgency was met) it became very apparent as the day unfolded that today was going to require a pivot. Yesterday I spent most of the day coordinating some well-checks and some air-drops into cut-off communities in a virtual manner (from what I’m now calling basecamp Brevard...might as well...I can call it anything I want right?) Using my cell phone and desktop with the help of FB and internet access I was amazed and how I could utilize what many in need were posting and asking for on FB and then coordinate from my lil basecamp.

Today was a different story because the desperation was being met (some of the chaos had calmed down a bit on FB) as organizers and coordinators had begun to successfully (again...referring here to first point of contact...not problem solved) get help to those in need. Military aircraft are present in the area in large numbers (it’s not uncommon to hear and see Blackhawks and Chinooks flying around right now) as well as many private helicopter pilots many of which are working for organizations like Operation Airdrop. Huge strides are being made each day as things become more organized and communities learn who to talk to and how to get help (it’s not like there’s practice for this unless you’re from Florida...and even then...this is the mountains so it’s different.)

So today I decided to go down to some of the churches nearby that were offering free food, supplies and even free showers in some cases and see how that was going. Naturally, I witnessed some chaos...but saw some very good-hearted folks hustling around doing something that was absolutely helping people meet their needs! (Feelings of the need to be doing something is nearly killing us here too because just like you we’re all biting-at-the-bit to DO something.) I stopped by Anchor Baptist Church at 3232 Hendersonville Rd in Pisgah Forest and wow what an operation they have going on there. They basically have a mini-walmart set up there and they had all sorts of things they were able to give to those who needed it. I was there for nearly two hours watching and listening and talking to people. During this time car after car and trucks with trailers and uhaul trucks were pulling up one by one offloading donations. Loads and loads of stuff! I have no idea where they were all coming from but stacks and stacks of bottled water, diapers, canned goods, potatoes even a load of hay arrived while I was there. YAY HAY! (seeing this is a big need because of hay losses from flooding to feed horses and llamas and so forth).

While listening to folks there were stories of continued power outages, no more food at their homes, roads barely passable because power lines were tangled up into the hundreds of downed trees across the roads (some of which were HUGE trees like Oak trees). I heard stories for the first time today of someone driving towards Asheville from the Lake Lure area last week and seeing bodies of animals everywhere and also human remains (much like we heard about after Katrina). Horrific stories.

On a brighter note, it was overall a positive experience to see people able to help by donating and also for those who needed help to be able to receive this at these distribution locations.

Now just down the road at Pisgah Forest Baptist Church at 494 Hendersonville Hwy it was a much quieter seen. They were just as stocked up with water and canned goods and supplies of all kinds, but you could walk right in (no lines at all...no chaos at all) and you were met with smiling faces and helping hands. Drive right into their parking lot, walk right in the door and folks were there saying, “How can I help you, what do you need and please help yourself.”

Please help spread the word, since Anchor is where everyone is directing people who are looking for assistance, you can imagine how busy they are...lines, lines and lines. But not at Pisgah Forest Baptist Church. Get my drift here?

Mind you I get that I’m only talking about two locations here right outside of Brevard, NC ...there are dozens and dozens of locations like these all around the region helping to distribute goods and donations that everyone is sending this direction. And they are a PRICELESS resource right now...literally boots on the ground handing out very needed items to everyday folk like you and me.

Meanwhile I found out that one of the Chinook flights that landed near the hospital in Brevard was full of supplies to distribute to local fire departments, police departments and sheriff departments because these folks too are distributing sometimes right to people’s doorsteps up deep into the mountains where folks can’t get to them.

It’s something to marvel at and be right in the middle of all the pulling together and resourcing that’s happening here. Also please note here...I’m not seeing the hard stuff. The hard stuff is happening in communities that were literally washed away. Where people were being dug out of mud slides. This is what is meant when you hear people say “it’s bad here.”

And I’ve already been asked by someone out-of-state “why didn’t you know this was coming?”

This topic is for another post. I’ll be happy to tell you why “no one knew this was coming.” Stay tuned for this post.

Meanwhile please help spread the word.

 

Need someone to talk to?
Please call this FREE disaster distress hotline at: 1-800-985-5990

 

 

Need food, supplies, water?
Pisgah Forest Baptist Church
494 Hendersonville Hwy, Pisgah Forest (just outside of Brevard)
open from 9a-4p

 

 

 

 

10/02/24 21:20 Some things I've learned in the early days of recovery in Western NC

Wow, what a day it was on the ground here in Brevard today.

Firstly, some of the things I’ve learned going forward.

-Posting images from what conditions were like here in western north carolina anytime before the present moment isn’t helpful because it’s misdirecting attention to things that aren’t relevant to today’s recovery efforts. Sharing is one thing but reposting old images as a new post is another entirely. Sharing keeps the original time stamp on the post so we can all see that it’s from days ago.

-Begin to add today’s date and time when you post new info that way we all can know how current the information is so we don’t spin our wheels looking for resources to help those who have already been helped.

-Please take a moment and fact check what you’re thinking of re-posting or sharing before you click on “share”. I’m starting to see information that’s not even relevant or that’s from years ago (also not relevant)

-Facebook is an enormously useful resource when it comes to finding real on the ground information and actual calls for help. Please DO keep sharing these! And add where it came from and a timestamp so we can know if is relevant realtime info.

-FB’s algorithms put things in our feeds that we haven’t seen which are often days old. I’ve seen posts for the first time today that were from 3 or 4 days ago. I’ve begun looking at the date they were originally posted so I know to move on and mostly ignore these and move on so I can help with what’s happening right now.

-There are specific needs that people are seeking to fill. These seem to be “well-checks” for family or friends that haven’t been able to be reached through normal channels (usually by cell phone or email) as cell service and power outages are still a problem in many areas. Another is “how can I help” questions. Where can I volunteer or where can I send supplies. Another is “I need food or shelter or water” where can I find these. Another is “we have supplies or food or hot meals or showers available. Here’s where you can come get these things”. Yet another is “I live in yadda yadda state and have supplies and will be heading your way”.

Regarding these things: here’s some of what I’m seeing.

Well-checks are being handled firstly by local fire departments and they are doing one HELL of a job connecting families and friends in this way. If you are seeking to find a family member or friend you can simply post those requests nearly anywhere and there are those of us who come across these requests that can coordinate efforts to find these folks in our area and get word back to you. Or you can reach out directly to the fire departments that service your family members home. That’s the quickest way to get the ball rolling. Now that cell service and internet service and power is coming back online you can try calling your family member...yet I also know from personal experience that your family members phone may be dead and they may not realize this...because they’ve lived without power or cell service for so many days that they’ve forgotten to check. (this is mostly happening with the elderly which is why these well-checks are so important to follow through on.)

The how can I help questions...please be patient. This is not a sprint. But is a long-haul operation. Donations and supplies will be needed 6 months from now and there are trucks and trucks and trucks of supplies already here and enroute as I write this. The real issue now is how to get what supplies are here and arriving into the hands of those that need it most.

Which is where the air-support comes into play.

There are countless helicopters, pilots to fly them and other air support here that are in need of our help to direct them to where they are needed the most. This is what I spent most of today coordinating. We need to know where the communities are that are cut-off from road access. THIS is where the air support is needed. Many communities have bridges washed out and roads completely destroyed and the only way in is on foot, by mule (yes there are mule teams here) and so forth. Air support is proving priceless to these communities!

Regarding “I need food, shelter, water” questions...that information is getting disseminated via radio and by churches and fire departments and communities helping communities. Same goes for “we have food, supplies, etc to disperse”...word is getting out the same ways.

Regarding “I have supplies and am heading your way…” well...I’m seeing that this may simply bog down efforts that are already ongoing and here on the ground. Lodging is already strained due to destroyed homes and for workers here like linemen and other infrastructure teams on the ground. I’d recommend you wait to travel here and help from afar for now.

Secondly, if you know of communities that aren’t getting assistance for whatever reason(s)...please post those locations publicly so help can be directed your way. Please reach out on Facebook or by texting friends or family. Help is here!! We just need to know who to contact to confirm, location to send help to and a list of what is needed.

Coordination efforts are in FULL swing. And these efforts are improving daily. As organizers organize we are all learning how to better succeed in helping one another.

In the meantime, I have witnessed and experienced an outpouring of human-kindness on levels that exceed comprehension. I have watched neighborhoods pool resources, people point the way to available resources, an outpouring of donations and even just a shoulder to cry on.

Speaking of shoulders to cry on...one thing I’ve not heard anything about yet is mental health services. The things that many have witnessed here are ptsd inducing. Heart-wrenching, aweful things. If anyone can help begin to coordinate (and maybe this is already being prepared for I don’t know) mental health providers to plan for this need...please lead the way!

A very special thanks from the bottom of my heart to those of you who have assisted me personally which now is allowing me to pay that forward and assist others here on the ground.

Onward and upward as we move forward together here in Western North Carolina.

Please note here also...I see the actions you are taking from states away to provide support!

I thank you for this. And the people of Western North Carolina thank you for this too!

Stay tuned...

10/2/24 Lucky and Blessed

(please note that all communications were down (no cell service, no internet, no landlines) here in western NC beginning Thursday night Sept 26th and coming back online a little bit more each day leading up to this post when internet access was available again)

Hello all!

The most recent update from where I sit.

My oh my the aide and supplies and help that’s coming into the Western North Carolina region is mind-blowing. From the first helicopter I saw circling the Brevard, NC area...I got goose bumps because I knew help was arriving. Yesterday a chinook, an osprey, two blackhawks and a sikorsky (I think it was a superhawk) were flying over Brevard and the surrounding areas.

Gas lines at the nearby stations are organized and moving rather quickly compared to a few days ago. The station that I went to yesterday was limiting purchases to $20 per vehicle which I think is very fair and reasonable. I only waited in line 30 minutes. No big deal. There are no gas shortages here...just things take longer when cash only purchases available. (think you can’t just pull up to the pump, put in your card, pump gas, depart. But rather, park, walk in to the gas station, wait in line in side, pay, walk back out to your car, pump gas, then leave. Takes much longer per vehicle. But hey...we have all the time in the world here right now. Where we gonna go other than to check on our neighbors?)

Grocery lines vary depending upon where you go. Many are still cash only but here in Brevard, Aldi is accepting cash and credit card (not debit).

There are many churches and fire departments offering free bottled water and other various supplies. Hot meals are being provided for free by many locations...also mostly churches and fire departments, some businesses and restaurants also are chipping in. There are shower stations within the area as well while power is still not restored everywhere.

For myself? Well, I am extremely lucky and blessed! I am currently staying at an airbnb here in Brevard, NC where I now have power, water and internet. INCREDIBLE in lue of all that’s happened here. This is a very unique situation I’ve found myself in (as it is with thousands of others)...because I moved out of my home in Hendersonville, NC on Monday of last week (Sept 23) with the plan of staying here in Brevard to prepare for the scheduled TedxBrevard event to be held at the Porter Center at Brevard College on Saturday, Sept 28^th. By Wednesday of last week (Sept 25) here came Hurricane Helene bearing down on us. The leadership team of TedxBrevard made the decision to postpone the event for Sept 28 until a TBA date in the future. (Thank goodness for that decision!) Meanwhile, after Sept 28^th I was scheduled to move into a rental in Saluda beginning today. Well...my how plans change and evolve. I have not been able to travel to Saluda to see what the state of the town is or what the condition of the rental property is. I do know that the town of Saluda doesn’t currently have power or water therefore no internet access either. My job with Green River Adventures was seasonal to begin with so I knew I would be seeking new employment. But now after seeing images and videos of the damage done in the Green River Cove area this is evidence that whitewater kayaking on the Green River might not be possible in any kind of commercial way well into 2026.

Where this leaves me is...a holding pattern. Much like most everyone here. I’ve asked the airbnb owners if I can extend my stay to which they’ve agreed for now until October 23^rd. I don’t know if I’ll be able to move into the place in Saluda or if I need to seek housing elsewhere.

In the mean time...my sister Brenda has set up a Zelle account through my mom in Ohio to take donations towards my staying here in Brevard (this was all set up when there was no cell or internet service here...hence the routing).

If you are seeking ways to help. This is certainly one way.

You can send a donation to this housing need.

Zelle to normad@gmx.com.

Recipient name: Norma Dickson

For: Rachel

My sister said she has heard from several people that were getting errors when they were trying to send funds by Zelle through this account. So if you receive an “unable to process transaction” message you can resolve it by calling your bank to explain that this isn’t fraudulent so they can fix it and can send through.

Meanwhile I’ve been doing what I can here to coordinate and channel help efforts on the ground with those of you from out of state who are so desperately wanting to help.
One of the benefits of having internet now where I’m staying is that this morning I was able to coordinate with someone organizing helicopter supply air lifts out of Greenville, SC to wherever help is needed. Hopefully after this mornings coordinations, an air drop will be delivered to the Green River Cove area very soon!
THIS is why each little thing, each seemingly little effort goes such a LONG way!

Please don’t dismay. Please be patient as coordination is taking some time.
This is a long-haul effort. Not a sprint.

Thank you to all who have read this entire post. It means you truly care what’s happening here.

Thank you also to those of you who can give towards a place for me and my 2 pups to stay here in Brevard!

Stay tuned for more updates.

Onward and upward.

TedxBrevard September 28th, 2024 postponed due to severe weather impacting North Carolina.

TedxBrevard 2024 - Official Postponement Statement

Due to the impending severe weather, North Carolina has declared a State of Emergency. Transylvania County and the City of Brevard have issued a State of Emergency for the region. The forecast is predicting heavy rains, extremely high winds, and flooding through Saturday.

In light of this, for the safety of everyone involved, we are officially postponing TedxBrevard 2024.

We deeply appreciate all of the hard work and effort our presenters, staff and sponsors have put into preparing this year's conference, performances and outdoor festival.

Know that we are committed to rescheduling this incredible event as soon as possible.

Stay tuned to local weather and news, stay safe and we'll send updates as soon as we can.

TedxBrevard Team