Flood – A Time of Transformation

Western North Carolina will never be the same. Lives have changed forever. Towns will be either totally wiped off the map or spend years in rebuilding, but never truly the same. Roads will be rebuilt, but will they follow the same path. Bridges are to be replaced. Many beautiful vistas will now be haunted by the epic destruction that passed through.

Yet, we can hopefully plan for stronger bridges. Smarter placement of roads, which will be updated and new. Houses replaced. Communities that might have been divided over politics may be drawn closer together when faced with issues that are much more important to life and death than whose political sign you had in your yard. Families, though many facing horrible loss, may also be drawn back together, restoring broken relationships when faced with their own possible mortality in front of them.

The change in the short term is catastrophic. The potential to rebuild … bigger, better, brighter … is upon us. It’s like Jean Luc Picard said in Star Trek: First Contact … at the self-destruction of the Enterprise E …

• Computer: Auto-destruct in 15 minutes. There will be no further audio warnings.
• Dr. Beverly Crusher: So much for the Enterprise-E.
• Captain Jean-Luc Picard: We barely knew her.
• Dr. Beverly Crusher: Think they’ll build another one?
• Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Plenty of letters left in the alphabet.

Disasters are often felt in the short term … but the long term impact may be a time of transformation. Even just a national awareness might bring tourism in for years to come to support the rebuilding efforts.

I came across this heart breaking photo out of the Helene aftermath … with the tag “Maybe it can be buffed out”. As a fellow FJ owner, I think it can be worked out and transformed even better than before.

Very few greater moments of transformation took place than that in the event of the flood of Noah … global devastation, to man and to the animal kingdom. Yet, it was used for a fresh start for humanity. Unfortunately, it also shows us that the stupidity of man still existed. It wasn’t long before Noah showed us that man still had bad habits and tendency to walk astray.

This should remind us, stay vigilant. Realize we see the short term, but there is a long term to keep in focus as well.

So … how can this change us who were not in the path of Helene’s fury …

• Prepare better (food, batteries, go bags, insurance, ways of communicating, etc.)
• Stay alert (weather apps, emergency radios, notifications)
• Know your community (who is there and might need help, or can help)
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
• Stay close to people you know now … don’t wait for a disaster to make you stay connected

If you were in the path of Helene, or any other disaster, I am so sorry. But know this, we do not know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow. This seems cliche, but it is true!