By Terry Henry

2024 Winter: Stories From the Storm Edition

Several thoughts come to mind after losing power for 11 days in the mountains of North Carolina and basically camping out in the backyard. Not exactly camping out but more like “glamping” as we had a generator for our water and were able to sleep, if you can call it that, in our bed at night. 

It was the “Best of times and the worst of times.” as Charles Dickens wrote in, “A Tale of Two Cities” and “These are the Times that try men’s souls” as the Kingston Trio sang in their song, The M.T.A. in 1959. And this little story is not intended to make light of the utter devastation that surrounds us and the months and years it will take to return to a semblance of normal for many people in the Northwest region of North Carolina. We have lived here for almost 40 years and have seen one storm after another come and go leaving property damage and loss of life. We were prepared more than many, but have never seen the onslaught of nature that was released more than a week ago. Towns have been erased, bridges and roads broken and washed away, and many have been left with little or nothing. The outpouring of help has been phenomenal as many organizations and churches have come to the rescue. It’s been a while since I read Dickens, but the story of Charley and the M.T.A. is one I will always remember. As the song relates, Charley put 10 cents in his pocket, kissed his wife and family, and went to ride on the M.T.A. (Metropolitan Transit Authority in Boston) in order to go to work. The fare was 10 cents, which Charley paid and while in transit, was raised to 15 cents by a some government officials, and as a result, or so goes the song, Charley could never get off the train. 

I am not quite sure what all this has to do with today, power back on and internet restored, but I will sharpen my pencil and try to find some answers for direction and meaning. 

We have been through some rough times but nothing compares to the recent events. During any past snow and ice storm or high winds with 60 miles per hour gusts, and rain with moderate flooding, we always knew that in the end, it would all be over in a day or two and life would return to normal. Been there, done that, lived through it and didn’t lose everything in our freezers. Water and heat were the priorities then, since most weather events took place during the winter, when frozen branches would fall into the electric lines. These events seemed to be hit and miss and were generally quickly corrected. But not this time. And not knowing when we would get power back, was a real struggle for me as we counted down the days and nights and tried to keep a positive perspective. 

I guess what is most amazing this time is the fact that some people lost everything and some only lost power for a couple of hours. This disparity is overwhelming to me, nascent reporter that I am. I don’t understand it and trying to figure it all out will probably never get me anywhere. Like Charley, trapped in that train, I couldn’t get “out” even with all the effort I put forth in the form of keeping gas in the generator, cooking on the camp stove or Blackstone griddle and grabbing ice for the coolers 

One of the highlights following our “ordeal”, was calling up Samaritan’s Purse after hearing that they were helping to restore order, which in my case was getting the huge tree off the roof of my crushed-in 10 x 12 foot shed. The gentleman I talked to said he would put me on the list and several days later I got a call early one Saturday morning. I figured a couple of guys would show up with chain saws and make quick work of it. The man on the other end of the line said they would be out in an hour or two and did I have parking. I said yes and was surprised when about 25 volunteers showed up and started hauling branches, and removing the tree from the shed and others that had been damaged. When they were finished, my yard and side lot was cleared and looked like I had hired a landscaper for the day. Before they left to help elsewhere, we gathered in my front yard, where I was presented with a Billy Graham bible each volunteer had signed with blessings and the group leader prayed for me and my family. Several weeks later, I got another call about picking up a supermarket gift card that was being presented to all the people Samaritan’s Purse had helped. 

As the MTA song goes, Charley couldn’t get off the train and he rode through the subway forever and ever and was the man “who never returned”. 

We have “returned”, though I believe that in my striving to keep things normal, I may have lost track of the big picture and the faith that comes with that way of thinking. It’s hard to let normal go and enjoy the journey, not knowing when or how long it will be that the circumstances around you prevail. I have rolled up the extension cords, preserved the gas that is left over and emptied the coolers. I am sincerely thankful but with an edge that may or may not have been there long before any of this took place. Now that things are more or less settled for me, I will need to reach out to volunteer and pray for those still in need, which is perhaps the answer to the question that I never fully asked but was there all along.