Friday from the Archives: “Who is my Neighbor?: Parables of Survival from the Floyd Flood of 1999,” essay by Charles D. Thompson, Jr. and photographs by Rob Amberg from NCLR 11 (2002)
25 years ago Hurricane Floyd passed over Eastern NC and the after-flooding ravaged the state. Even today, one can drive through the area and see the effects of abandoned homes and businesses. As our friends and families in Western NC are dealing with the effects of the once-in-a-thousand-years Hurricane Helene, we revisit Charles Thompson’s oral history essay.
Thompson traveled with the Center for Documentary Studies to listen to and record stories by those smaller communities not receiving as much media or aid from outside. He talked to farmers, retirees, spiritual leaders, and more. Thompson wrote, “These are the stories that cannot make it into the news because it takes too long to tell them – of how a river behaves at other times, of beaver and deer that frequent the area, of changes brought by hog farming and development all as seen by local community members.”
“Much can be learned about places by how their memories are cherished when these places are threatened,
damaged, or even destroyed. From these memories come stories that remind us of our humanity and encourage us to hold on to our loved ones – and these memories – even as everything else around us
washes away. Stories make people and events remain alive. These parables of survival both preserve history
and teach the listener. Above all, when people tell stories, their words are more human, more intimate
than official reportage,” wrote Thompson.
Thompson closes with, “And perhaps most important is that, through disasters, particularly if we have experienced one ourselves, we often learn that we are part of a community made up of people around us and others far away. At least for a time, we learn anew during the emotional time of the immediate aftermath, as Walter Davis, Sr. taught, there are no more “big I’s and little you’s. Everybody’s on the same playing field.” Art and community built because of disasters (natural or man-made) stems from the human need to persevere. Would we prefer to not have the disaster? Perhaps. But we would not have the stories, artworks, new opportunities, and friendship bonds without it.
Read the entire essay on Gale Cengage or purchase a copy of the 2002 “Tenth Anniversary” issue.
