· By Tarleton Walmsley
When I don’t know what to say, I tend to retreat into overanalyzing the thing I’m struggling to find words for. Approaching it from all angles, asking does this sound too trite? Is it too contrived? Am I making it about me? How will what I have to say impact others with different experiences from me? Falling flat and retreating a little deeper because really, what can I say that hasn’t already been said about the impact our communities are experiencing as a result of Hurricane Helene? It is absolutely devastating. And also: What if what I have to offer isn’t enough to make it better? Still, I'll give it my best shot here.
Like so many others, I can’t emphasize enough how much this storm has changed us all as a community, and how it will continue to reshape how we live through it for many years to come. It’s not just about Asheville; it’s also about the small, vital arteries of towns surrounding us. Arteries because they are the oxygen and nutrients pulsing through to the heart of Western North Carolina, making this region unlike any other place I’ve ever lived. Even this is hard to describe–how can you pay homage to any place in Appalachia adequately? Its history is rich and strong, the people here are resilient and tender all at once. Kinship and community care abound and you can find any way you want to be creatively inspired, from mountains and hollers to galleries and studios. You can find yourself listening to music on an island, or rafting down section 9 of the French Broad. You can start over in a place like this, because I certainly have, and there are people here who will care for you when you’re doing it.
As for Garden Party, we have been in the process of rebuilding our business for the past ten months. Here’s what I’ve learned from rebuilding and starting over: it will take time (so much more time than you think it will), it will be very expensive, it will take support and deep, continual community care, it will require of you a resiliency that you must not ever lose sight of or else you might decide to quit. The feeling of wanting to quit might try to do you in, but you must keep going. You must wake up every single day and say “Everything will be okay.” Even if there are tears in your eyes and you don’t believe that to be the case at all. Please say it, and if you can, look into the eyes of someone you love when you do because it helps it feel true and real. It’s going to feel incredibly lonely, like the world has passed you by. It’s okay to feel angry at the situation, because god damnit things sometimes are so unfair it hurts.
Over time, things will feel a little easier and you’ll adjust to a new way of being. And right when you think it’s time to throw in the towel, something small will happen that on its surface doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but is actually the biggest deal of all because you’re grateful for it having happened anyway. What I know about gratitude is that at first, I rolled my eyes at it and actually felt hatred for it, and then one day I began cherishing it dearly. When you practice gratitude, it expands like a deep valley in your core. It will help you be stronger, and you’ll begin to think that maybe, eventually, actually, or for real that everything will be okay. It’s okay if you’re still angry, though. Our systems continue to fail us and that is a different thing to swallow entirely. Rebuilding is a process and things as you knew them will never be the same.
And so my offering is this: we are here to help rebuild. We will be postponing our reopening to a later time and are currently preparing for other ways in which we might operate for the time being. It’s time to get creative, get in where we fit in, and be a resource in some way or another for the community we cherish so deeply. In the next couple of weeks, we will be organizing and sharing resources. I am currently working to ask vendors from outside of Asheville if they are able to contribute products which I believe can help in the process of rebuilding, and that we hope to distribute at no cost to anyone who needs it right now. If this is you, and you want to donate CBD, herbal tinctures, etc. please reach out! Our bodies will be tired, our nervous systems frazzled. We know and believe that plant medicine can be a crucial tool for the management of trauma. We believe wholeheartedly that in order to take care of each other, we must remember also to take care of ourselves. We’ll provide updates when we’ve got them on what our plans are regarding use of space and sharing of resources.
Thank you to those that have asked how you can help. Please continue donating to folks like Beloved, Poder Emma , Pansy Collective. They are providing aid and care to those in our community most impacted by Helene and I believe them to be an incredible example of mutual aid and care. Like many other small businesses, I too am afraid for our future and am currently looking for alternative ways to generate income in the meantime.
For out of towners: we’re still accepting online orders and will be able to start shipping again this week.
Finally, I’d like to share this quote by local author Wilma Dykeman, from Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.
“It is so, that when we are brought up short for a moment in our circle of activity, when we suddenly lose or find ourselves mistaken in some big plan, we must fall back on what is inside of us. It is the ultimate proof that the only real life we can live is the life which goes on in the tiny space within our skulls. Mind and spirit are what eventually save us from ourselves. They are what we possess without benefit of money or manipulation; they are the links between us and the rest of the universe.”
