These hearts– and mine– go out to my friends, my new family, in Ocracoke. You/they have been on my mind constantly since I heard about the accident at the Bonner Bridge site over a week ago. Here I am in Lewisville, air conditioning running, water heating, lights ablaze… and yet, I find myself checking constantly for updates from the electric companies, waiting to see the latest developments. It is kind of like being here in the western Piedmont waiting to see what will happen after a snowstorm– in Boone! Doesn’t really affect me, but still concerns me.
But wait! It does affect me, because it affect them. So many of my friends and students have been affected. Obviously, the first couple of days, before the generators were up and running everyone on the island was affected. It was hot; food spoiled; water was cold…. none of that is fun. But even in the days since, so many have lost income. Many, many teachers (myself included for most of my career) work during the summer to supplement their income. So much of the public continues to believe we only have to work ten months and “get two months off.” We do “get” two months off, but we are not paid for it! (And for that matter, we have no say-so over any of our vacation days for which we are actually paid. But that is another story, for another time!)
And most of our students also work at least one job– many of them more than one– during the school year. And they work that many or more in the summertime. And these young people are not working to buy accessories for their fancy car; they are working to buy their own clothes and, often, to help support their families.
There are the business owners, from restaurants to lodging fishing/island/golf cart/kayak rentals to shops of all types. Losing more than a week of an already short season is devastating. All of these people are still recovering from Hermine and Matthew in the fall of 2016. Those of you who do not live there do not realize how short the earning season is for so many of the year-round population. Many of those business owners also work part-time jobs during the off-season, just to stay afloat.
Despite what some have said, this is not something the islanders should or even could have been prepared for. If that were the case, we would all have a spare water heater in our basements, an extra car battery in the garage, even a generator (not cheap!) just in case. Yes, living on an island presents challenges and limits choices. But an accident like this cannot be planned for. Thank goodness most of the name-calling, blaming the victims behavior stopped pretty quickly. Nobody was unaware of or unconcerned about the losses sustained by visitors who had to change their vacation plans, but blaming the real victims was uncalled for.
Social media and the regular network media as well has reported at length on the situation. Unfortunately, not everyone was kind. And not everyone did what they should. As usual, there are always people who think that the rules do not apply to them. Almost every day when I am walking on the beach, I see people who breeze right past those markers warning people to stay off sections of the beach to protect the wildlife. The same people who think it is okay to throw out their trash, run that red light or stop sign, park in a handicapped space, you get the picture. But for the most part, people have been gracious and kind and understanding. There was a food pantry of amazing proportions on the island today. People are donating school supplies so our students’ parents don’t have to miss another day of work to buy them. There are all kinds of kindnesses coming out of this crisis.
I love Ocracoke. I love my friends there. I love the community spirit that thrives there. Yes, many places would do the same thing for each other. But, I dare to say, not on the scale we see in Ocracoke. I am certainly not a selfless person, but this crisis has consumed me this week. And I am but a drop in the bucket. Many, many people are pouring their goodwill into the bucket that is in need of filling in Ocracoke. They thank you. I thank you, on behalf of my “family.”
Ocracoke is back. The visitors are able to return tomorrow. Things will return to the usual hubbub of late summer. But there still has been almost immeasurable loss. We should not forget that. And rumor has it that a worse than usual storm season looms…. Stay tuned!
bethdlayton 