Covid happened here five years ago. I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten over the repercussions, although my personal bout with the virus was - thankfully - short-lived. My fabulous neighbor Shane (Director of Burnsville’s Public Works), mowed my lawn for free (I usually pay him) while I was laid off. I went back to work when my boss and I agreed that since I was in my own office, I could keep taking care of customers over the phone even if everyone else was laid off.

However, apparently there was another company in Tennessee named “Mountain Electronics,” and when I put in for unemployment in NC, the wires got crossed and the NC Unemployment Security agency (their name now escapes me, thank heavens), couldn’t - no matter how much information I gave them - connect the dots and send me the unemployment I was due. When they finally - a year and a half later - figured it out, I got a check for waaaay more than I was entitled to, had they processed things correctly in the first place.

Fast forward five years, and Helene - the most destructive hurricane to reach the WNC mountains - only took half a dozen shingles off my roof…thanks to the Universe, I guess?

The weird thing about Helene is this: Burnsville is about 700 miles from the NC coast. Historically, hurricanes either start in the Gulf of Mexico (or “Gulf of America,” according to the current POTUS) and whack western North Carolina, then fizzle out in the Atlantic. Or the reverse. It comes, it goes.

Helene, contrary to what we’re used to, came up from the Gulf, and did NOT swing over to the Atlantic. She shot straight north, taking a stop of sorts in Kentucky, and fizzled out somewhat north of that. We’d gotten warnings, but since hurricanes rarely do much damage in the mountains, I figured it’d be bidness as usual. Ha!

Around midnight that night, I got up because the winds were so strong. I put on my housecoat and went out to the front porch. It was windy and the rain was blowing up onto the porch so much that I just went back inside and slept through it.

Had I understood what a powerful storm we’d just experienced, I presume I’d have been more alarmed. It took down communications. My neighbor Christian and I - after a whole day of me not hearing from Jim - walked out to his house on Low Gap. Jim’s road - Bolens Creek - had been washed away. We crawled through brambles and strangers’ yards. I got stuck in 3’ deep mud; can’t remember how I got out.

When we got to Jim’s house, it was obvious he was okay; he just didn’t have (same as us) electricity or internet. Thankfully, he has a spring that pours water out 24/7. (It was weeks before we had town water again.)

None of us who lived through it will still be alive when the effects of Hurricane Helene are history to everyone else. There was a Yancey County flood in 1916 which Helene has eclipsed. Of course, there’s no one still alive to tell us what that was like.

I was lucky; Helene cost me only the price of replacing half a dozen shingles (although the roof - 10-year shingles on a 2002 roof job) - really needs replacing.

Let’s be grateful if all any of us henceforth never has to deal with this weather-related crap again. Right?

=sigh=

xox

Lucy