I Need to Say “Thank You!”

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Dear City of Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer –

Times of crisis reveal character and leadership. Your resilience and unwavering commitment have been truly inspiring!

You have done an outstanding, heroic job of coordinating the efforts of the City of Asheville, NC, with federal, state, county, and faith-based agencies responding to the havoc, chaos, and damage caused by Hurricane Helene.

Thank you! Your tireless work and efforts have built trust, created hope, and instilled pride in continuing to rebuild our community.

I thank your family, too. They are essential to your support in carrying out this mission.

I have your back and will be a follower in the next crisis you lead!

Carrpe Diem!

David Carr

What Is A Typical Day Like Without Power, Internet, or Water?

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We are coming up on day 14 without power, internet, and water. Someone recently asked, “What is a typical day like without power, internet, or water?”

My day begins in the first sunlight.

When I get out of bed, I “wash” my hands with hand sanitizer and brush my teeth using water from a bottle. Then, I put all the lights that run on solar in the window to begin recharging.

I go downstairs, open the garage door, turn on the gas grill, start boiling water for coffee, and wash dishes. I plug my coffee bean grinder into a generator and grind beans to make French Press coffee.

While the water is heating, I take Dash (our Jackweenie) for a walk. By the time we return, the water for the coffee is boiling. While the coffee is seeping into the French Press, I clean up and straighten up the tables with food, tableware, and cleaning materials. Trash gets emptied. Water gets checked. There are three types of water on hand. Water for drinking. Potable water to be boiled for cooking and washing dishes. Creek water for flushing toilets. I determine which of these water sources need to be replenished.

When the water for washing dishes has boiled, I carefully bring it upstairs, prepare a tub for washing dishes, and then a tub for rinsing and sanitizing dishes.

I try to tune into the 10 AM Buncombe County Government briefing for updates and information from on-the-ground subject matter experts in water, police, healthcare, and others.

I make time to create the “to-do” list for the day. Ice? Water? What is the food for the day, including seeing who will be preparing dinner that evening? Exercise? (Stretching is essential!) Shower and laundry (which requires driving 14 miles to my cousin’s home who has water, power, and internet.)? Checking on neighbors for water and ice? Volunteering? Helping neighbors? Check on Carrpe Diem consulting work? Email? Read? Top off car gas tank? Cash (many places take cash only and will not give back change.)?

The day begins to wind down around 4 PM. Dash gets another walk. It will get dark by 7:30 PM. Since we are the hub for the “community kitchen” where neighbors gather for dinner, a table needs to be brought out to serve dinner. The fire pit needs to be started as the sun goes down and it gets chilly! A flip chart is brought out for people to share announcements, make requests, or see who will fix the next day’s dinner. The generator gets turned on so people can plug in devices for recharging.

Dinner is served around 6 PM. People may linger around the fire pit and talk, but most turn in before 9 PM. I’m in bed shortly after.

Are You Ready For Disaster?

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This disaster in Western North Carolina is beyond imagination. No movie director could top the scenes in and around us. The pictures I could share of downed trees, power lines, and water runoff are nothing compared to what you see on the national news. The destruction in Biltmore Village is heartbreaking. The communities of Swannanoa, Black Mountain, and Montreat are a mess. Chimney Rock, which we pass through several times a year to go to a cabin at Lake Lure, has been wiped out, as well as parts of ST RT 74. Instead of birds, we hear chainsaws and generators.

I would ask you to pause, look around you, and consider what you are grateful for. What do you take for granted? How well are you connected with your neighbors? Do you check in on them? Do they check in on you?

Put yourself in a position of “What if this happened to me?” Do you have the basic supplies, including drinking water, ready-to-eat meals, flashlights, a transistor radio, hand sanitizer, a first aid kit, and other essentials?

Here is the greatest gift of this disaster: our neighbors! We began gathering the last Friday of each month 15 years ago to share food, sit around a fire pit, and connect. We have been there for one another during this disaster, clearing downed trees, removing debris, rerouting water, sharing, comforting, laughing, and crying. Neighbors help us to endure this disaster. They help turn a problem into an inconvenience we are enduring together.

2024 VP Nominee, Tim Walz, Can Call Me Weird!

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Tim Walz can call me weird, but I appreciate this serious crisis I am experiencing in Asheville, NC.

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste!” – Rahm Emanuel

Reminded: I am a creature of habit. After seven days without power, I still walk into a room and reach for a light switch! Take a breath and be present!

Resourcefulness: Many times, when facilitating a group or team doing an exercise or completing an initiative, I will ask, “Are you using all your resources? What are your resources? What questions need to be asked? What are the implications of what you are doing?” This crisis has made me a participant who must answer these questions to move forward. Take a breath and continue to be resourceful!

Creativity: Creativity gets sparked when seeking ways forward. The human spirit shows ingenuity and sparks many “What ifs.” Take a breath and be creative!

Kindness: The table has turned in this crisis. I am seeing far more kindness and empathy and less incivility! Yes, some motorists still don’t follow protocol at 4-way stops, but the sharing, the smiles, the “How are you doing?” and the phone calls and texts from people I haven’t heard from checking in on us have brought smiles. Take a breath and be kind!

Patience: This crisis has tested patience. I’ve been waiting in line to get gas for the car, waiting for water to boil to make coffee, listening to someone ramble on and on without taking a breath, waiting for power to come back on! (It’s still off), and waiting for water to come back on (this could take weeks!) Take a breath and be patient!

Need: There is so much I want and so little I need. So many people around me need things like a warm bed to sleep in, food to eat, water for drinking and bathing, medications filled, and just a hug! Take a breath and share privileges with those in need.

Community: We live in a nation that promotes individualism. But it’s a community that allows for survival and thriving. I recognize I need “me” time and aloneness, but I need others, especially with whom I can be vulnerable. I need a community that supports rather than fixes me, respects me and my differences, and shares their strengths and competencies where I am weak and incompetent. Take a breath and seek, build, and grow a community!