“I love those who can smile in trouble…” 
— Leonardo da Vinci

 

 

I haven’t written about it explicitly, I’ve only skirted around and referred obliquely to Hurricane Michael and the devastation it wrought on our community on October 10, 2018. I don’t know that I’ll ever write a beginning to end chronicle. There are so many stories, and they are all variations on the same theme. Each one is poignant, powerful and personal. Mine is no more and no less than the others; it is simply one more voice in the storm. Five months post landfall, there are signs of routine and normalcy returning. But many conversations still turn to that day, and how one weathered the event, and the ongoing recovery. We each continue to build back our lives and our narratives, and I tend to just share bits and pieces along the way.

No one thing alone has sustained me, although family is and has been paramount. Out of this wretched experience, one recollection that I will treasure is the weeks of feeding my “village” because I had the only functioning kitchen. That ritual of every evening gathering to eat, laugh, shower, rest, and draw comfort from each other will always be a priceless memory. Yes, there were a few tears, wiped with a sleeve on the sly. However, that time together will always remind me that good does come from bad, we just have to stand vigilant watch to see it approach and to welcome it into our broken lives.

 

Powerful Quotes

Book lover, word collector, and author junkie that I am, I will confess to turning to the words of my literary “friends.” Maya, Zora, and dear old William Ernest Henley, have lifted me up and sustained me. Their words travel down years and miles to one broken reader who found comfort. As I pull strength from these words, I have wondered if the author wrote them with that intention, or did the writing give them strength and release instead.

 

 

“There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”

-Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

 

Zora Neale Hurston’s statement brought context to the journey begun October 10, 2018. Hurricane Michael and the aftermath will epitomize for me one of the “years that ask questions.” At the core, who am I now and how will this experience hone me? Am I stronger than this storm? Can I help others be stronger too? Will I come out the other side of this a different person? This also puts the catastrophic event within a time frame. This is a year…one year…maybe more that 365 days, but there is an end, or rather, a new beginning in that year that will answer. We will get there eventually and answers will be revealed.

 

“Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.”

-Maya Angelou, Still I Rise

 

Still I’ll rise….this one I literally wore around my wrist as a reminder. At some point  prior to the storm I had picked up a bracelet with that quote inscribed. Actually more than one. I gave one to my bestie cousin Novel Blonde Jennifer the weekend before the storm as a belated birthday gift. I kept one for myself as well. There were mornings I would wake up, strap on that bracelet like armor and begin a singsong mantra in my head, “Still I rise, still, I rise.”  I don’t rely on that talisman nearly so much at this point, going days without wearing it, but it served as a visible and tangible reminder that we would rise above the current circumstances. Read the entire poem here: Still I Rise

 

“I am the master of my fate,

      I am the captain of my soul.”

-William Ernest Henley, Invictus

 

If you ever sat an English Lit class or watched Invictus, a movie featuring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, you’re familiar with this poem. It personifies the will to survive and triumph over adversity.  Those two lines were another source of inspiration and motivation to keep moving forward.  It’s a powerful message, and worthwhile to hold as a reminder while facing challenges. Henley faced serious illness and long hospitalizations. Writing was a means to express what he experienced and observed while incapacitated for long periods.  Here is a link to the poem in entirety at Poetry Foundation: Invictus 

 

I would never compare what I have experienced personally to the experiences of many in much worse circumstances.  I’m blessed, grateful, thankful, for a home that went relatively unscathed, a family who suffered no injuries, and insurance and banks that have been reasonable to work with through repairs. So many here can’t say the same, and knowing that, I have no complaints, only appreciation for my circumstances.

If you want to learn more about the storm, visit the links below. If you want to help, I’ve provided the links to several local agencies supporting recovery efforts.

 

 

Resources

 

South Florida Sun Sentinel: Total Devastation, 150 photos of Hurricane Michael’s aftermath

ABC News Hurricane Michael Updates

Family Service Agency of Bay County, FL

Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center

Donor’s Choose – Search Hurricane Michael projects