Buy this shirt: https://aaronshirt.com/product/official-kansas-city-chiefs-kelce-mahomes-pacheco-t-shirts/
At dusk, my next-door neighbors set up their fireplaces, and the neighbors down the block all came over. No one looked beyond the weekend. The teens were wondering if school would be canceled on Monday. It reminded me of the early days of COVID—the alarm, then the hunkering down, then the “Okay, so we’ll be back in a few days, right?” before the big picture. They knew they had to stay put to stay safe, and they were doing their best. But I was in a different place. They had supplies. I went to bed and prepared for tomorrow.
I saw a family I had said a quick hello to while walking their dog a few days earlier. When they saw me coming back home later, sitting in the car scanning the radio, the mother checked on me and offered to take me to dinner. She was the first to say, “Oh, that was really tough, you really need help. Come here.” I said I was grateful, and to be honest: I really needed the support. It was their son’s 13th birthday, so we ate pasta cooked on a camping stove and cake from his canceled party. We had a nice evening together, and it restored my frayed nerves. I hadn’t realized how much emotional energy I had spent trying to contain my panic.
I wondered if I could and should leave Asheville. I had no cell service, so I assessed the damage from the lookout: I could see the river from the bottom of the hill, flooding the entire street and buildings below. I knew that most of the city was out of power. I knew no one had cell service anymore. But I wasn’t sure of the roads and would have to figure it out. I decided to walk. Along the way, I would see groups of neighbors. People helped when I asked for help directly, but no one came to me, except a few friendly neighbors. It took me about a day to figure out what I actually needed, let alone how and who to ask. My situation was an incredibly complex, high-stakes puzzle. But by Saturday morning, my options were black and white: I had to stock up or leave town, and I had to figure out the safest option as soon as possible.
Home: https://aaronshirt.com
Comments