With the impact of Hurricane Helene and now Milton, I have been watching as much news on the subject as I can find. I suspect many others are doing the same as they try to process the images they see. Through the many news items, I heard one comment that got me thinking. This person implied that western North Carolina may not rebuild. I am not sure that person understands the stubbornness of Carolinians.
Over recent years, WNC, specifically Asheville has been a popular relocation destination. People from other states and countries discovered strong communities, hiking trails, state and national parks, as well as nearby attractions like white water rafting, fly fishing and skiing in the winter. They found a ready made utopia with cafes, theaters and art galleries, along with a quirkiness that rebelled against standard suburbia. There might be some rough edges here and there, but the idea of a ready made life in idyllic, verdant mountains drew them in by the hundreds of thousands. That did not spring out of nothing; it is the result of hardy people, generation after generation making life better for the next.
The new comers might not stay. But the core of the mountains stand, unwavering. They were there before the last huge flood of 1916. Cutting timber. Hunting. Making shine. Scrapping out a living by building an area on a foundation of sweat and pain.
Incredibly, we humans don’t seem to enjoy success and peace as much as we say. Rather, we thrive in the arduous tasks to make or achieve something, anything. Take the “art” created by the folk in and around Asheville. It comes from scarred psyches. The tortured soul, whether from internal demons or external events, strives to craft a message to …to … what? A god? Their friends? Maybe their future selves? Whether a wood carver, painter, sculptor or print maker, they all send it: “This is what I see/feel, I want someone else to feel it and I hope it endures beyond us.”
The best art is birthed of pain and Western North Carolina is poised to produce a masterpiece. We can help them by digging them out and giving them the tools to craft their future. But let’s let them wield those resources, in their own way, to convert this suffering to something better.