A SHOUT-OUT TO MY NEW NEIGHBORS… THANK YOU.
Nothing makes you appreciate good neighbors quite like riding out a storm, especially when you live in the middle of nowhere. Living alone on top of a mountain comes with a steep learning curve, and mine was steeper than any other transition I’d made before. I moved in just a couple of months before Hurricane Helene and spent nearly two weeks trapped with no power, no water, and not a single bar of cell service. I got to know my neighbors quite well during that time.
My former neighbor Roanna even taught me how to use a chainsaw… although after the storm drama had passed, I quickly decided my world was a considerably safer place with me not owning one. Our steep, three mile dirt road, mostly 4WD on a good day, was buried under dozens of downed trees and washed out in several places. (Thanks to FEMA, we got new gravel nearly a year later, but who’s counting?)
She brought me food and often invited me over for home-cooked meals and fancypants coffee from her espresso machine, since her generator kept her household running somewhat normally. I thanked her often, but it never felt like enough for all she did to make my transition to this wild and remote place feel like home.
After another storm, I woke to the sound of a chainsaw and found Roanna cutting up a tree that had fallen across my driveway, checking on me on her way out. She is one of the most thoughtful people I have ever met.
Roanna and her roommate became dear friends, and we visited often. So when the right nurse practitioner position never materialized for her here in the South, and Maine offered her several, I understood completely. Her house sold quickly, and this past February she headed north for good. I miss them terribly.
My new neighbors seem quite nice, although so far we’ve only met through a car window as they drive by while I’m out walking, plus a few friendly texts. Then this weekend, the remnants of Hurricane Isaias, which had made landfall as a major hurricane, rolled over our mountain with heavy rain and high winds.
While it was nowhere near as bad as Helene, four trees came down across our long, winding road, along with plenty of limbs blocking our way out. And to top it off, I had a perfectly healthy, tall, straight tulip poplar come down just a few feet from my cabin, reminding me of the intense feeling of vulnerability during high wind events.
But this morning, my new neighbors’ son fired up Roanna’s old tractor, tried it out for the very first time, and cleared every bit of debris from the road. Well done.
While it is very easy for me to become an isolated weirdo hermit up here talking to the trees and animals on my daily walk, I am certainly glad to have kind, thoughtful folks living nearby. I am grateful!
So, to my new neighbors… thank you. I owe you a cup of coffee, although it probably won’t be nearly as fancypants as Roanna’s.