Logistics Over Optics: The Caretaker's Covenant
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, Western North Carolina saw an influx of symbolic "dog and pony shows." While political entities from across the spectrum prioritized media narratives, their presence often hindered actual recovery efforts by strangling the I-26 highway corridor and access to the Asheville Airport and air space. None of these maneuvers provided tangible assistance to the home folk. In fact they hampered our ability to receive airdropped supplies and needed fuel.
Recovery is a matter of financial discipline and clear-headed logistics, not performative suffering. Choosing a tactical migration to South America is a move of survival that preserves rebuilding capital while the long-term siege against bureaucracy continues. I turned down national media opportunities, including the Dr. Phil Show, to honor my commitment as a local poll worker for Polk County and Saluda.
82nd Airborne delivering vital supplies to the Green River Cove community.
I am the caretaker of this home place for the generations to come. I will not sell or move from the land where my elders are buried, including those interred in the Jones Price Graveyard along the temporary road reopened after the flood. This soil holds the ashes of my grandmother and cousins, alongside those of cherished friends and the memories of many others who are no longer here.
