The morning following Hurricane Helene’s arrival in Greenville, I opened my drawer in search of work clothes. A T-shirt and shorts for the task of bailing water from neighbors’ flooded basements and removing debris from yards. The shirt that had serendipitously made its way to the top of the pile read “Montecito Strong.”The tee was purchased in the days following storms that ravaged the Central Coast of California. The rains of 2018 created mudslides that took with them entire communities of the California beach town. What followed were massive clean-up efforts, and the mindset that the community had joined the fill-in-the-blank strong club, “_______ STRONG”.
The “strong club” is the label we give to places hit by disaster and tragedy. It is a club no community wants to join, but once a part, it rises to the newfound identity. As if dormant in the region’s character; qualities of the strong sprout to the surface the moment the designation is conferred.
There is no shortage of places that have banded together in the aftermath of tragedy to show the world what it means to be their version of strong: Jersey Strong- Boston Strong – Houston Strong – Parkland Strong. New York Strong.Americans first learned what it meant to be a different sort of strong following the events of 9/11. As the rest of the country turned on TVs to see planes crash into the World Trade Center, and the buildings come down, New Yorkers lived the events firsthand. In the weeks, months, and years that followed, New Yorkers helped one another heal. It became part of the city’s identity. When eight years later, Captain Sully Sullenberger expertly landed an Airbus A320 down on the Hudson River, no one in New York was surprised that the 150 souls exiting the plane were scooped from the icy waters by ordinary citizens. Fishermen, dockworkers, and hobbyists all rushed toward the crash to rescue those onboard. New Yorkers knew what it was to be “New York Strong” and answered the call once again.As the storm surged, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene created unprecedented destruction, flooded our homes, and claimed lives. The areas affected answered with Upstate Strong. The rains had yet to let up before truckloads of neighbors arrived to clear roads of fallen debris. Social media networks, the phone tree of our era, sprung to life to ensure everyone was safe. There wasn’t a person who didn’t have a canned good to lend or a hand to help those around them. If power has been in short supply, help has been the commodity overflowing from the region.The anthem of Upstate Strong is equal parts chainsaw whirls, generator hums, and firepit laughter. The seeds of Upstate Strong, planted deep in her soil, waiting to sprout, were kernels of neighborly love. Seeds that had grown a network of deep roots just below the surface, waiting for the moment they would break the surface in an explosion of color. Bearing the fruits that all Upstate neighbors have always known were there.