I was in Asheville, North Carolina, last week. A family member finally had her wedding there; it was originally scheduled the weekend an evil bitch named Helene went through town. Everyone was shocked and heartbroken by the storm and the ensuing damage reports; many of us live in hurricane- or tornado-prone areas of the country, so we are familiar with the risks.
It’s one thing to see it all on TV and read about it in the papers. The in-person view is something else. It’s awful, tragic, and devastating damage. “Apocalyptic” and “biblical” are good starting points for the description. Water rose 20 feet and washed out buildings, leaving only outside walls and some internal structural steel. The railroad tracks alongside our hotel were silent, rendered useless due to buckled rails and missing ties.
Running is difficult in Asheville. Sidewalks are missing, chipped, cracked, or tilted in unexpected uphill-downhill non-patterns. There are hills, but those have always existed and are not getting any easier for yours truly. But drivers are patient, and actually let you cross the street in traffic. I did get a few runs in, and it was a mix of exhilaration and heartbreak, seeing the mud, boarded-up windows, and misplaced boulders.
Speaking of people, I’ve never met nicer folks working harder to restore a more beautiful place. There will be destroyed buildings, trashed lots, empty stores, abandoned homes, and the ever-present sound of dump trucks, electric saws, pounding hammers, and cranes moving broken signs and splintered lumber out, and installing new pipes, wires, and boards. Ashevillians are still working their regular eight-hour-a-day jobs and continue to create art, music, and culture. Looking at the remains of that awful day has to hurt. A photographer I spoke with at a local market (and whose work I bought) told me he had not taken any photos since the storm; it’s too hard to face the wrecked reality.
Asheville is resolute and robust, tough and durable, capable of taking a horrendous hit and returning strong, though different from before. There will be scars and missing parts. But go now, because it’s already #AshevilleAwesome.
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