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Asheville, North Carolina – We've all experienced adrenaline-driven emergencies. We max out our credit cards, do what we have to do in the moment, and worry about the consequences later.
Now, four months after the horrific devastation caused by Hurricane Helen, Western North Carolina is having a moment.
This Smoky Mountains city is a postcard-perfect city of 95,000 people, but physical scars and workers lurk in every corner of its red bricks and cozy cafes.
President Trump's visit to North Carolina “gave people hope,” the pastor said. franklin graham
The good news is that most places are open, at least downtown. On Friday night, a sizable crowd, some from out of town, gathered at the Jack in the Woods restaurant and pub to watch Kill Tony's comedy show performance. This was also a sign that life was returning to normal.
The people of Asheville are supporting each other as they struggle to return to normal life. (Fox News Digital)
I heard that the restaurant had been closed for two months, but managed to get a water pump and was open with a limited menu until the water was finally restored.
But when I asked a typical bartender who seemed to know everyone in this town, “Do you think things are normal?”, she looked at me with an almost shocked look on her face. .
“No, definitely not,” she said.
I asked her and several other local residents, including a man in his 40s who works for the local school district, how much time they still spend each day doing hurricane-related things and thinking about hurricanes. I asked. Four months later, they both gave nearly identical answers. “Almost all day.”
Signs of rebuilding can be seen all around Asheville. (Fox News Digital)
In a surprising confession, the bartender said the day the electricity was restored was bittersweet.
“It's definitely gotten better,” she said. “But we've all come together in such a great way that when we were able to watch TV, we just wanted to stay home.”
The damage is severe in Asheville, but even worse in the surrounding rural areas. That's why Raleigh resident Mark Luckinbill and a few friends have found a unique way to help: installing mailboxes. Eager to help his community in Avery County, Mark was told by the pastor's wife there that they really needed heavy equipment.
“All I had was my friends, my hands, and a few shovels,” Mark told me.
Then something happened. The pastor's wife recalled an elderly woman who didn't have a cell phone and was scared because her mailbox was missing. She relied on it to get her Social Security checks and bills.
This may not make sense to people who live in urban areas, but in rural America, your mailbox may be half a mile down a dirt road from your home. Postmen cannot leave packages on the side of the road.
So they built a postbox for the woman.
Mark and his friends have now visited Avery County 10 times to install mailboxes. Because it was something they had the authority and ability to do and had to do. Now there is also a website.
There is a clear sense of selflessness in helping one's neighbor and putting others first.
Many people lose their cars and used cars are rare. Most cars parked on the streets of Asheville have designs that show obvious water damage. (Fox News Digital)
One local musician I spoke to was typical. When I asked him if he had suffered much damage, he said, “No, we were mostly OK. I mean, we had power out for two months and my car and my girlfriend's car were totaled. But nothing was fatal.”
In Asheville, that equates to “It was mostly okay.” he considers himself lucky.
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I asked if my insurance would allow me to replace the car. He said they were lucky to have something to share (again).
“The insurance is paid, but I just don't have a car. I can't find anything decent for less than $10,000,” he said.
Shortly thereafter, his girlfriend arrived, exchanged the keys, and said she would call him an Uber if he was too late for work.
Hurricane Helen destroyed more than 138,000 vehicles, a significant portion of which occurred in western North Carolina. A walk through town shows that even surviving cars have water damage to their lower bodies, and the state attorney general's office is warning of scams involving the sale of heavily water-damaged cars.
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Access to cars and mailboxes may seem like small potatoes compared to the loss of life and the destruction of homes, but they add up quickly, leaving state and federal governments still overwhelmed by the devastation. It's a low priority for. .
With President Trump's visit on Friday and the promise of more aid, there is room for more optimism in North Carolina. But the real strength here, and what ultimately ends up drawing the good people of Asheville and the surrounding area through this, are themselves and how they care for each other.
There are few things more beautiful, and perhaps nothing more American.
Click here to read more David Marcus
