Loose Leaf Notes

1. The Hurricane Helene flooding of the French Broad River in Western North Carolina hit home in my son Josh Copus’ town of Marshall, 20 miles north of Asheville in Madison County.  Josh is owner of the Old Marshall Jail hotel restaurant and bar, which he repurposed himself with hard work, heart and artfulness. Situated along the river, it got hit hard. The building still stands but the floodwaters surpassed the watermark and broke the record from the flood of 1916. The picture above was taken after the water receded, but you can see the watermark left on the building. The lower floor, where the bar and Zadies restaurant is located, was totaled.  Josh reported that some buildings and people’s belongings floated away. At one point, there were people in kayaks paddling down the flood filled streets.

2. After several tense days of no word from Josh, he finally posted on his Facebook page: “The town of Marshall was destroyed yesterday. The town I love is gone. Whole buildings floated away. Businesses floated away. We basically lost everything. This is by far the worst flood in recorded history. The water went to the second story in the old jail. It hit 27ft on the flood gauge. The water was two feet into the courthouse. I’m safe. I’m alive and surrounded by my community. I’m still in shock. There’s gonna be a long road back.”

3. Days later when Josh could get back in the jail and start some clean-up, he posted: “Whenever I’m away from town my heart gets heavy with the loss but as soon as I return I’m uplifted by the spirit of my community. I watched people I didn’t even know shovel mud out of the jail for 8 hours. I saw people who lost more than me have a better attitude and it made me realize that we could do this. My darkest moment was Saturday morning when I knew the town was destroyed but we still couldn’t get back in yet to start cleanup. I was scared that I wouldn’t have it in me to do it, but as soon as we got in there together and I saw the determination on the faces of my neighbors I knew that we had this.”

4. For days, during the storm and its aftermath, I was fielding texts, emails, Facebook comments and phone calls of support from people asking how they could help. On Tuesday Josh got a GOFUNDME page up to raise money for the clean-up and rebuilding, which has been going gangbusters because he has a lot of friends, there and here in Floyd where he grew up. He has a big family and, with his upbeat personality, has developed a lot of meaningful relationships. Meanwhile, here in Floyd we lost power for several days. I was home alone and enlisted the help of some young men in my neighborhood to pull our heavy generator out of the cellar and pull the start cord for me.

5. In challenging times, there lots of love floating around too.

6.  THIS song, Watermark, and others by Enya was the soundtrack of our lives in the ‘90s.

7. Hold doubt at a safe distance / Hold space for grace / Hold hands at every chance / Let love hold you close / before you let go / before time unravels / like a kite string.  Read my poem The Kite String in its entirety HERE.

8. More on The Old Marshall Jail that I pulled from the jail’s website, and a line that I got from an news story on Josh: “Part art hotel, part museum exhibit, part historic preservation, our guests can enjoy modern amenities while they travel through time. Original architectural pieces, artifacts, historic photos and documents are displayed throughout the building to create an immersive storytelling experience. A love letter to our community and the people who have shaped it, and a look into the future we are building together… Josh Copus is a ceramic artist and creative entrepreneur who is featured in galleries throughout the United States. The Old Marshall Jail is his largest piece of art.”

9. Joe and I just watched the Netflix documentary Will and Harper. It was a touching and funny documentary about friends Will Ferrell and Harper Steele, formerly SNL writer Andrew Steele who has transitioned to a woman, and their road trip together. When it was over, I said to Joe, “Wouldn’t it be funny if Harper had chosen the name Grace for her transition. Get it?

10. Maybe the best part of the movie was the theme song that Kristen Wig wrote for occasion, Harper and Will go West HERE. 

11. Video clip from the Washington Post that my son Josh Copus is featured in HERE. 

12. “In the Lakota-Sioux tradition, a person who is grieving is considered most wakan, most holy. There’s a sense that when someone is struck by the sudden lightning of loss, he or she stands on the threshold of the spirit world.  You might recall what it’s like to be with someone who has grieved deeply. The person has no layer of protection, nothing left to defend. The mystery is looking out through that person’s eyes. For the time being, he or she has accepted the reality of loss and has stopped clinging to the past or grasping at the future. In the groundless openness of sorrow, there is a wholeness of presence and a deep natural wisdom.” ― Tara Brach

13. ”Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin / Dance me through the panic ’til I’m gathered safely in / Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove / Dance me to the end of love – Leonard Cohen

_________Thirteen Thursday