"I'm becoming the church lady," she said.
She's been spending much of her time in the past couple of weeks volunteering in Arcadia, an inland community full of the workers who keep places like Sarasota running. Their modest homes and trailers were torn apart by Charley, and even by the time the ruins were being soaked by Frances, the shock of their loss had still not sunken in. Whole neighborhoods are gone.
"There are people who still want to know when they're getting their power turned on," my sister said. "They don't understand that there's not going to be any power. There's no home left to go to."
Some memories never fade, as reporter Barbara Solow and photographer York Wilson discovered during visits to Maple Hill, an inland community that suffered heavy flooding during Hurricane Floyd five years ago.
For many of us, Maple Hill is a little place you pass through on the way to the beaches of Topsail Island. You have to look closely to see that, like the memories, the effects of Floyd linger long after the television cameras are trained elsewhere and the state has closed the books on the disaster.
The closer look we offer this week reminds us that behind the damage reports, the billion-dollar estimates and the promises of recovery, there are real people for whom life will never be the same. For some, like those in Maple Hill, it's evident that the system for helping our neighbors falls short.
For those of us who've lived through storms, it's a little hard to celebrate that we dodged Frances. You know that beneath the satellite images, homes, neighborhoods and communities are being torn apart. You know that lives are being forever changed, recovery (if it ever comes) is a long way away, and the next storm is not far behind.
- To create paragraphs in your comment, type <p> at the start of a paragraph and </p> at the end of each paragraph.
- To create bold text, type <b>bolded text</b> (please note the closing tag, </b>).
- To create italicized text, type <i>italicized text</i> (please note the closing tag, </i>).
- Proper web addresses will automatically become links.
Latest in Editorial
-
Strike down the discriminatory driver's licenses
In issuing these pink driver's licenses, emblazoned with the words "no lawful status" (which isn't true), Republicans want to elicit fear from as well as punish North Carolina's undocumented immigrants.
- Mar 6, 2013
-
When nipples are outlawed, only outlaws will have nipples
This is what's way out of hand: A measure like House Bill 34 passes for governance under the new regime.
- Feb 13, 2013
-
A very expensive race in Senate District 18
If Barefoot defeats Berger, the Republicans will have effectively bought a seat, a vote in general for their far-right agenda and specifically for Stam.
- Oct 3, 2012
- More »
More by Kirk Ross
-
Beware the bright shiny objects of the General Assembly
When the mackerel are running, you take a shiny metal spoon with a hook on it and cast it in the water. It's a decent metaphor for the viral interaction of social media and outrageous legislation.
- Apr 17, 2013
-
Unlike Oz, the Legislature is all-powerful
In this state, the Legislature creates not just the game and the rules, but the players themselves.
- Mar 20, 2013
- More »
