Sunday 6 October 2024
We are still reeling from Helene’s devastation here. But I was lucky; my power was out for only one day. My wifi access is random. Still no running water, but bottled water is everywhere. Beggars can’t be choosers, but I wish they would all be gallon jugs instead of 20 oz bottles.
On Friday, I was carrying a chair into the “Old Burnsville gym” which is right around the corner from me. That was where volunteers were gathering to sort and pack clothing donations. Someone had said they needed chairs for the volunteers, so my nephew Paul, who had come from the coast of South Carolina with supplies, helped me bring the lawn chairs from my gazebo. The original concrete steps have been covered with pebbles I presume are cemented in. Large patches of the pebbles are broken off, so I think it was one of those uneven edges that tripped me. I got right back up, and thought I was okay, but my right elbow was bleeding pretty badly. Jim taped me up but there’s something else going on. It’s swollen and tender to the touch. I’m hoping my doctor’s office will be open tomorrow.
In addition to my Sadie and Fang, I am housing for friends Melba, a yellow lab mix farm dog. She shadows me and has claimed quite a bit of real estate on my bed. Otter, who is always here when Plott Hound Books is open now stays 24/7. She and Fang are BFFs. A rescue worker named Jim and his pup Raven are living next door, and Raven stays here while her master goes wherever his chainsaw skills are needed. He has generously cut up two black walnut trees that fell in my yard. Other friends have pitched in as well. And people have donated many bags of dog food, some that are too big to lift.
Just a day or two after the storm, two women brought to me a dog they called Oakley. Oakley is deaf, blind in one eye, and partially blind in the other. A year and a half old; no vaccinations, not neutered, not house trained. Just tied outside, including during the hurricane. Tomorrow, he goes to the vet for the works. One of the techs there came over yesterday and told me to work out a signaling system by stomping on the floor so Oakley will understand what I am trying to say.
I have lost track of time completely. It’s as if every day was just another day: another same day. And then another.
Jim and I lucked out on finding a place to take a hot shower. I’d been using the wifi on the library porch every night, usually sitting next to the same woman. She invited us over to take hot showers - the first we’d had in a week. Her dog’s name is Oakley! What are the chances of that?
There have been so many little acts of kindness going around that it really drives home for me what a beautiful place I live in. Last week when I went to the store, I told the checker that I had only $100. When she’d rung up about $96, we decided what I needed to do without. Yesterday I went to the store but forgot to tell the checker my cash on hand (cash is king here, no cards or checks accepted anywhere). When I went over by $2.73, I told the checker I messed up. He said it was no problem, and that we’re all in this together. Then he reached into his pocket, and paid the $2.73! A twenty-something kid!
I wanted to tell much more, but my left thumb is aching from the way I have to hold the phone to type. And it’s midnight and I just got back from the free mobile laundromat. I am bushed.
Lucy