The Stories Behind the Stories
Unexpected
Loss has been on my mind this past week, how it sneaks into story.
As a long time Floridian, hurricanes are dreaded, yet expected weather events. We prepare, we watch. And we wait. Most calling the beach home, evacuate. There is no holding back surge waters. Yet, afterwards, we will learn the stories of those who tried.
The flood waters that swept through East Tennessee and North Carolina - unexpected. The loss is unfathomable. These are the places people from Florida evacuate to be safe.
I thought of my mother, something she once told me. How living high on the mountain is the safest place to be.
She should know, having been born into a surge of family who for generations called the hollers of East Tennessee and southwest Virginia home.
Sadly, she should know.
My mother, she is fading.
Family photo: Saltville, Virginia
My mother has proved a force in my life, in ways unexpected. She weaves through my work.
Through the “shared madness” of writing, I’d like to share the stories behind the stories.