WEBVTT 1 00:00:04.919 --> 00:00:07.719 All right, welcome back, and joining us now is Lee Brown. 2 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:12.800 She put together a relief organization that is still going on, 3 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:15.240 and as she points out, this is not over yet. 4 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:19.280 People's attention span is very short and they move on 5 00:00:19.359 --> 00:00:22.839 to the next story or the next hurricane or whatever. Right, 6 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:25.039 but this is still going on and it's going to 7 00:00:25.079 --> 00:00:28.239 go on for a long time, and so we need 8 00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:31.760 to keep people's attention focused on this and fight against that. 9 00:00:31.879 --> 00:00:35.359 And there's also a concerted effort to keep this quiet. 10 00:00:35.960 --> 00:00:38.280 I want to begin by telling you where you can go. 11 00:00:38.399 --> 00:00:42.880 The official donation page is on giftsend Go and it 12 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:48.240 is at we Love WNC for Western North Carolina. We 13 00:00:48.359 --> 00:00:52.240 Love WNC. That's on gifts End Go. We'll give that 14 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:54.880 at the end of the broadcast as well. But thank 15 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.000 you for joining us, Lee Brown, thank you very much 16 00:00:57.039 --> 00:00:57.560 for coming on. 17 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:00.640 Well, thank you for having me honored to be on 18 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:01.119 your show. 19 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:01.840 Well, thank you. 20 00:01:02.320 --> 00:01:04.359 I want to, you know, let's talk about what is 21 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:06.680 going on in the ongoing need here. But I think 22 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.280 a lot of people are just curious as to what 23 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:12.680 it looks like on the ground. But maybe we could 24 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:16.200 start with how this all began and how you got 25 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:18.680 involved in this what was it like what you saw 26 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:20.239 being there on the spot. 27 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.719 Well, just to be very clear, I'm located about an 28 00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:28.120 hour outside of the impact zone, but being a native 29 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.000 North Carolinian and having a lot of friends and family 30 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.680 in the affected area, it just it hit home for me. 31 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:38.640 And so when the storm hit and we were watching 32 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:42.719 the flooding in the very early coverage, which there was 33 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:45.959 a little coverage at the beginning, I could see where 34 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:51.640 this was headed. And I have helped with natural disasters 35 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:54.359 in the past, because North Carolina does happen to get 36 00:01:54.439 --> 00:01:57.719 hurricanes on a regular basis, and being in real estate, 37 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:00.719 I think real estate agents often don't get the credit 38 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.239 they're due for the way realtors just love to dig 39 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:07.120 in and help their communities. Well, my husband and I 40 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:11.360 celebrated our wedding anniversary on September twenty seventh. Then this 41 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.080 is the third year that we've spent our anniversary doing 42 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:16.840 relief efforts. So I don't know how we got lucky 43 00:02:16.919 --> 00:02:18.840 like that, but I knew it was coming and I 44 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:20.879 said told my husband, I said, well, let's load the 45 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.120 real estate company moving truck up and we'll let our 46 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:27.280 clients bring donations and we'll be prepared to help, not 47 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.719 knowing how bad it was going to be, but knowing 48 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.199 there was going to be a need, so I put 49 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:35.520 the word out that we would let people come help 50 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:37.439 us build the truck up. And then as the news 51 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:41.800 hit of the breadth of the disaster and the gravity 52 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:45.439 of what was going on, it turned into it an 53 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:50.280 accidental grassroots effort that has been embraced across the well, 54 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:53.680 actually it's international at this point because my videos talking 55 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:59.080 about it had gone viral. And it's hard to put 56 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.159 into words what it looks like in western North Carolina 57 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:06.039 because it's truly warzone kind of conditions in many areas 58 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.199 where the roads have collapsed. I forty between North Carolina 59 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:15.599 and Tennessee collapsed with vehicles stranded on the highway. You 60 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.120 have the city of Ashville, which is a decent sized 61 00:03:19.159 --> 00:03:23.680 small city, fourteen feet of water over the water treatment station, 62 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:28.840 so no water in the city and town's gone. Chimney 63 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:31.879 Rock is gone. That's one of the few situations you 64 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:36.280 can actually find evidence of on the social networks. Swana 65 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:40.560 Noah went under water, Montreat, the home of Billy Graham 66 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:45.319 just virtually destroyed. And it's all I can describe it. 67 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:48.719 As is. It's the flood of biblical proportions. It's the 68 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.240 highest amount of flooding we've ever seen in the state. 69 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:56.360 It was four feet higher than the previous generational flood 70 00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:01.120 in nineteen sixteen. So it was, it was, and it 71 00:04:01.159 --> 00:04:05.080 is because we're still right now on day thirteen, I 72 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:08.719 guess we're still doing rescue efforts for people who were 73 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:11.680 in their homes and then the driveways washed away and 74 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.400 the roads washed away, and the only way you can 75 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:20.680 access these people is with ATVs. And unfortunately there's as 76 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.240 many well there's probably at this point more that have 77 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:27.879 perished than have survived in those survival situations, just because 78 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:33.319 of where the geography had it located. And it's staggering. 79 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:35.439 It's just just staggering. 80 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:39.439 I've never seen anything like it, quite frankly, you see 81 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.199 when damage. I grew up in Florida, saw hurricanes all 82 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:45.160 the time, and to see homes demolished with tornadoes and hurricanes, 83 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.399 that's one thing. But I've never seen the kind of 84 00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:50.519 force that we saw with this water just washing away 85 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:54.600 you know, not only homes, but highways and the foundations 86 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:57.680 of where the highways were. I mean, it's it's like 87 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:01.959 a nuclear bomb went off. Truly amazing. What has happened there? 88 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:05.160 What about the when you got there? What did you see? 89 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:07.959 I mean you drive up to you you didn't know 90 00:05:08.040 --> 00:05:10.519 how bad this was going to be, and what was 91 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:12.480 the situation there? I guess at that point in time 92 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:14.839 people were doing rescue work. Tell us a little bit 93 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:15.279 about that. 94 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:20.000 Well, I think the rescue work was actually slightly delayed 95 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:22.959 because of the breadth of the disaster. I mean, you're 96 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.639 talking a geographic area that's the size of other states, 97 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:31.079 so there's a shock factor involved. And I have some 98 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:34.399 friends that are mayors of small towns because I'm fairly 99 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:37.480 politically active, and I talked to a friend of mine 100 00:05:37.639 --> 00:05:42.480 in one of the small city large town status just 101 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.480 to check in and see what was going on. And 102 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:47.000 he told me his town had no water, that their 103 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:50.120 water station had gone out, And of course my immediate 104 00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.720 reaction was, let me get you some water. So I 105 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:55.240 talked to a friend of mine who had a horse trailer, 106 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.759 and so we called Low's to see if we could 107 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:00.199 get a hold of some palettes of water. And this 108 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.560 was on the first day. So we chase down the water, 109 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:08.160 We get the water into her truck and head west. Well, 110 00:06:08.279 --> 00:06:12.160 while we're heading west, they're closing down access points. And 111 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:16.199 I forty is the primary interstate going obviously from east 112 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:19.319 to west, and it was shut down, so we had 113 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:21.720 to go on seventy. And then when we got on seventy, 114 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:24.720 there were only certain ways you could get into this 115 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:28.160 town because of the road wash outs, but also because 116 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:32.360 of the blockades that had been put up to restrict traffic, 117 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:35.839 because of the uncertainty of the roads, and it was 118 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:39.079 and what would normally be a drive of a little 119 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:42.160 over an hour took three and a half hours to 120 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:46.120 drive like this to get to the town, just to 121 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:50.680 give some water because there was no water. I mean, 122 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:53.160 the municipal system is out. And I don't know that 123 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:56.240 any of us really understand how much we take for 124 00:06:56.319 --> 00:06:59.240 granted are clean and safe drinking water. I mean, unless 125 00:06:59.240 --> 00:07:01.600 you traveled in the third world, it's hard to understand 126 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:06.160 how spoiled we are as Americans. And when that water 127 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:09.040 supply is gone, people on a well would normally be 128 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:11.800 all right, but they're electricities out and if they have 129 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:14.680 a generator, did they have fuel for it? Because not 130 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:18.920 everybody is thinking ahead all the time. Most folks don't 131 00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:21.519 have a stockpile of water. So we got there with 132 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:26.800 this pallette of water, and the people came over and 133 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:31.199 got it immediately, just sheer gratitude, and it was the 134 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.120 beauty of it was nobody was grabbed more than they 135 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:37.000 should have. There was a very big desire to make 136 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.519 it go as far as it could. And that was 137 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.160 day one, and so looking at the road closures was 138 00:07:44.199 --> 00:07:47.120 it was very unsettling to think you could no longer 139 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:50.680 travel freely because of all the blockades. If you could 140 00:07:50.680 --> 00:07:54.399 travel freely, the roads may not be accessible. And if 141 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.600 the roads aren't accessible, how do you get to your 142 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:01.480 neighbors with life saving things like clean water? And then 143 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:08.360 that was day one. By day three there's the smell 144 00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:13.600 of decomposition, and that's a it's nothing anybody ever wants 145 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:17.360 to experience. But that's if you remember the temperatures when 146 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:21.399 this hit still in the end summer, so still warm enough, 147 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:26.759 and the human body is not made for lying around 148 00:08:26.800 --> 00:08:29.040 in the sun. And that's that's continuing to go on 149 00:08:29.519 --> 00:08:32.879 because we still have not gathered all of our neighbors 150 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:37.080 who perished. They have not all had a decent burial, 151 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:39.799 of course, because we haven't. We haven't located everybody, and 152 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:43.679 so it's it's just it's hard. And so when you 153 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:48.679 see it now, the news is already showing the parts 154 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:52.799 of towns that are intact, their messaging being it wasn't 155 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:57.360 that bad, but it is. It's just devastation. And the 156 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:02.399 example I can give you of a town called Rollins 157 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:06.039 is a very tiny hamlet in the North Carolina Mountains, 158 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:11.759 had about fifteen homes prior to the Great Flood. I 159 00:09:11.759 --> 00:09:15.679 guess there's four houses left, and that's one of the 160 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.279 lucky little hamlets. The rest of the houses are gone 161 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.240 because it primarily sat on the banks of a river. 162 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:27.039 And when you see what's left, it is just things 163 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:28.799 are gone. It's hard to get your mind around it. 164 00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:31.720 And for me as a North Carolina native who's gone 165 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:36.320 to the mountains for years for vacations and for going 166 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:39.799 out hiking and church retreat I mean every church I've 167 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:42.279 ever gone through, the retreat places are up in the mountains. 168 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:45.759 Your geography has changed forever. So you have the loss 169 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:50.279 of life. We've lost humans, the geography is different. Towns 170 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:53.320 are gone, and so there's a grief over what the 171 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:57.159 state was prior to twenty twenty four and what it 172 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:00.200 is now because it won't ever be the same. Oh, 173 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:04.600 it's just it really makes the Bible come to life 174 00:10:04.679 --> 00:10:08.799 when you look at the way that things went in 175 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:12.440 the Terrah and what happened with these towns as they 176 00:10:13.000 --> 00:10:14.919 they warred with each other and they would wipe them 177 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:17.720 out and salt the earth, And you can't help but 178 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:23.159 feel that there's obviously a visual of the spiritual battle 179 00:10:23.200 --> 00:10:23.720 that we're in. 180 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:27.879 Yeah, oh, it's amazing. And so at this point now, 181 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.000 as you said, all the roads are closed, there weren't 182 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:32.919 any roads in many cases, so they would black people 183 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:35.879 off from that. In terms of the logistics of trying 184 00:10:35.879 --> 00:10:38.480 to get stuff in, that's got to be so incredibly challenging. 185 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:40.480 And we've had all kinds of reports that we've talked 186 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:42.799 about over the last week about people trying to come 187 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:45.799 in with helicopters and evacuate people out, other people pulling 188 00:10:45.879 --> 00:10:49.480 rank on them and stopping that. Organizations like the one 189 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:51.240 that was in bat Cave, and they've done a great 190 00:10:51.360 --> 00:10:54.600 job logistically of putting stuff in and getting things distributed. 191 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:58.080 How are you operating with this and who are you 192 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:01.159 partnering with in order to get these is pies in 193 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.360 when there's not a clear path or a road to 194 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:03.919 get there. 195 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:09.600 Well, when my video went viral, I got calls from 196 00:11:09.679 --> 00:11:13.240 people with trucks and trailers literally all over the country 197 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:17.480 who are patriots who are not afraid of figuring it out. 198 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:21.039 And we have had this ragtag group of people who 199 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:23.840 never knew each other but responded to a call, who 200 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:27.759 have come in found their way through truckers who had 201 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:31.159 the right permits and knew how to navigate road closures 202 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.840 better than a regular person. Local people with an suv 203 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.080 or a pickup truck or a four by four. And 204 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:42.600 that's my group has just kind of filled gaps wherever 205 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:45.360 we've been called upon. The organized groups have helped us 206 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:49.120 to know where are the polaris guys needed, Where can 207 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:52.000 we get an ATV up, We need toachs to put 208 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:54.320 food in, to go up the side of a hill 209 00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:57.159 to get to a family. So it's none of the 210 00:11:57.720 --> 00:12:01.559 big groups. I will give good credit to Samaritan's Purse, 211 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:04.759 Franklin Graham's organization. They were in Bune as of day 212 00:12:04.759 --> 00:12:08.279 one with their organization, they were set up and distributing 213 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:12.080 and my goodness, a super well oiled machine. Very impressed 214 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:15.559 with the work that they've done, and the Baptist churches, 215 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:18.240 the Baptist Coalition got busy on day one as well, 216 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.159 and they've been spreading out through the church network to 217 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:24.320 some of the smaller areas. But other than that, we've 218 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.679 operated with people we find on Facebook or people that 219 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:33.399 have been referred to us as reputable and kind, thoughtful 220 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:36.039 people who are looking out for their neighbors. And so 221 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:39.519 it's just what happens when people decide to pitch in together. 222 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.320 It's not a five ZHO one C three, and we're 223 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:45.799 not any true organization. And in fact, those of us 224 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:48.279 that swung into action a few days ago are now 225 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.799 trying to figure out, all right, we still have jobs 226 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:53.320 to do because we're not relief workers, and there are 227 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:58.200 professionals available, but they're still overwhelmed. So how do we 228 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:01.399 continue to help while we manage our own lives so 229 00:13:01.440 --> 00:13:05.600 that we can continue to support. But the way people 230 00:13:05.639 --> 00:13:09.360 have pitched in is it's the spirit of what America 231 00:13:09.480 --> 00:13:11.679 was founded on, and it's encouraging to see that it's 232 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:12.279 still there. 233 00:13:12.440 --> 00:13:12.799 It is. 234 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:14.679 And you know, just before he came on, I finished 235 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.120 off with Alexis Totokville, who came to the US basically 236 00:13:19.159 --> 00:13:21.240 look at the prison system. But he was just amazed 237 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:24.279 at how people in America would come together to solve 238 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:27.759 a common problem voluntarily as a community. And it is 239 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:31.399 wonderful from a perspective of where I am. It's wonderful 240 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.840 to see that happening again, to see that that's not dead. 241 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:36.519 That when people see that there's a need, they can 242 00:13:36.679 --> 00:13:39.600 organize themselves and people come together and offer their services. 243 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:42.679 I've seen this in the past when there's been a 244 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:46.000 localized stuff, it's not many times when it's really big, 245 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:49.000 then you get FEMA, you get the military, other people 246 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:51.519 come in and they essentially shut that down and take 247 00:13:51.559 --> 00:13:53.240 it over. Whether they do a good job or not. 248 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.000 They didn't allow people to participate and they shut that down. 249 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:58.559 And so that's why I think so important about this 250 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:00.879 and part of what you're doing. I think you're kind 251 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.279 of focused on trying to get supplies. And as I 252 00:14:03.320 --> 00:14:05.039 look at the site that you've set up, you got 253 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:08.759 an Amazon wish list, and in that wish list you 254 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:11.360 put in things that people you know that people need, 255 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:17.000 medical supplies, general needs, a wish list, and other things 256 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:19.039 like that, and I guess you're then handing that off 257 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:20.960 to some of these other organizations that are there. 258 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:24.080 No, we're taking it in ourselves. 259 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:24.679 Okays. 260 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:29.600 We have had three scenarios where my teams have been 261 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:35.919 interrupted by FEMA, and FEMA has a plan to inventory 262 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.440 everything that they can get their hands on. We choose 263 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:42.360 not to let them inventory it because there's a need 264 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:48.200 and I don't think they fully grasp how geographically challenging 265 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:50.840 an area like this is because you're not talking a 266 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.360 city an urban center of you in a flat area. 267 00:14:53.799 --> 00:14:58.519 You're talking fifteen houses here, sixty eight houses there. And 268 00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:02.320 the centralized information tends to be the volunteer fire department. 269 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:04.399 So we've reached out to many of the volunteer fire 270 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:08.120 departments because they know who in their community needs insulin. Well, 271 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:10.720 I probably don't have insulin, but I may have a 272 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:14.000 contact who can help get the prescriptions and handle all 273 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.639 the details on that. And so we're removing more quickly 274 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:21.000 because we're not trying to follow the red tape of 275 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:25.000 the government. And we understand that FEMA wants to have 276 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:27.879 a central supply hub, But if you have a central 277 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:31.480 supply hub in a huge geographical area, then how are 278 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.679 you going to deploy that in a timeframe that makes sense, 279 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:38.679 especially with falsh warnings now because now we've moved into winter, 280 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:43.679 so our job today we moved another we'll move thirty 281 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.679 generators up today to give to thirty different homes so 282 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:50.600 they could keep the heat on. We moved another dozen 283 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:55.039 propane portable heaters into some other homes for elderly who 284 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:58.559 don't want to leave can't leave. And I just I 285 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:02.120 don't know that FEMA's interests it in dropping generators at 286 00:16:02.120 --> 00:16:05.759 people's houses so that they can stay put. They would 287 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:07.960 rather put you through a red tape nightmare to get 288 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:09.519 a little bit of cash. But the little bit of 289 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:12.320 cash their offering doesn't even cover the cost of a 290 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:15.639 generator that I got at wholesale price, and they're not 291 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:17.879 going to deliver it. So if you're elderly and you 292 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:20.639 apply for this little bit of money on FEMA online, 293 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.720 so you have to have internet access, they want receipts, 294 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.399 They want a doctor's note if it's say a breathing machine. 295 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:30.440 We also got thanks of oxygen delivered up today as well. 296 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.240 They want a doctor's note for your oxygen. Okay, so 297 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.639 FEMA is only going to give you money if you 298 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:38.759 prove your power was out while you're on the internet. 299 00:16:38.840 --> 00:16:40.879 And if you prove that you have a doctor's note 300 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:42.840 for what you need, and if you have receipts, and 301 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:46.480 then you'll get this seven hundred and fifty dollars. Well, 302 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:49.759 I have found that if the donations I've received are 303 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:53.240 going to buy thirty generators, I called my guiet Low's 304 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:55.399 and Low's has been amazing by the way they were 305 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.679 so quick to help us with hunting down what we needed, 306 00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:01.480 giving us wholesale ing even though I'm not a builder, 307 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:05.440 and Lows helped us hunt them down. We talked to 308 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:07.599 a guy with a trailer, and the guy with a 309 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:11.200 trailer who's not working today, put the generators on and 310 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.359 ran them up so that they could be distributed from 311 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:16.839 a church to these thirty homes. If femas in charge, 312 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:19.960 what's that a month process? And in that month process, 313 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:22.680 how many help issues occur because somebody's cold in their 314 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:25.079 home in the mountains in the winter in North Carolina. 315 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:31.359 So yeah, we're we're circumventing, but not because we're you know, 316 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:34.519 breaking any laws. We're just doing it a better way. 317 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.640 And well, idea how the communities were built though we 318 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:39.680 took care of each other. Churches used to be the 319 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:43.599 center churches knew who was hungry, and we fed them, 320 00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:45.839 and we knew who was sick, and we took care 321 00:17:45.880 --> 00:17:47.880 of them, because the Bible says you take care of 322 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:50.599 aliens with those and orphans, and so that's what we're 323 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:52.240 looking at here, is how do we take care of 324 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:55.640 those that are passed out, those that are alone, and 325 00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:58.079 those that are unable to care for themselves. 326 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:02.440 That's right, and you know, the bureaucracies have their own agenda. 327 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.440 But the other part of it is the centralization that 328 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:09.319 you're talking about. If you've got a decentralized thing that 329 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.720 is happening, it can happen so much more effectively and 330 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:15.599 quickly than the centralized bureaucracy. They took them a long 331 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.200 time from what I've seen, to even show up, and 332 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.440 then when they do, their obstructionists because of their imposed procedures, 333 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:26.759 because of centralized planning and distribution and all the rest 334 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.519 of the stuff. So that is what is so essential, 335 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:32.079 and that is also that's why we need to talk 336 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.480 about this for everybody. It shows the power of community, 337 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:39.079 it shows the power of volunteerism, and it shows just 338 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:43.319 at the same time the callousness and the ineffectiveness of 339 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:48.559 a distant, centralized bureaucracy, and that's the key story I 340 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:50.480 think here, And as you point out, this is going 341 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:53.160 to go on for quite some time. I mean, I've 342 00:18:53.160 --> 00:18:56.319 seen some of the organizations. There was some Mendnight organization 343 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.640 that has a history of going and they spent two 344 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.480 and a half years at an Indian reservation. FEMA wouldn't 345 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:03.759 do anything to help them, but they're wiped out with 346 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:06.799 a storm and I don't know why it didn't fall 347 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:10.079 into their bureaucratic checklist of something they would help with. 348 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:11.759 But this group went there and they stayed there for 349 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:13.400 like two and a half years, and they said, we're 350 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:15.599 going to be here for several years because we're going 351 00:19:15.640 --> 00:19:18.480 to be here helping people rebuild. I guess at this 352 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:22.839 point right now, the rescue operation is really more recovery 353 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:25.079 of bodies. But the people that are there, they need 354 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:28.880 a constant resupply of things because they really can't help themselves. 355 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.279 It's really reliant on outside help. 356 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:36.720 Would you say absolutely? Because the infrastructure has just experienced 357 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:40.200 catastrophic damage. The city of Ashville is not expected to 358 00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:43.119 have water back for another three weeks. Wow is the 359 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:45.839 optimistic estimate. That's a city. 360 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:46.519 Wow? 361 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:48.880 Now if you go to some of the outlying areas, 362 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:52.599 there is some return of power, but there has not 363 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.599 been a return yet of water services because being mountainous, 364 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.440 you've also got some groundwater concerns now with the way 365 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.000 that the flooding occurred. So even if you're on a well, 366 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:05.279 the newest thing we're adding to our wish list or 367 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:07.920 well water testing kits, we are begging people to test 368 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.359 the water before you use it, because you don't know 369 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:15.559 what has come into your water source now. And part 370 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:19.000 of what we've received from our donations from around the country, 371 00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:22.240 and obviously I am just one of the many, many 372 00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:24.839 voices that has been a voice to cry out for 373 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:27.680 western North Carolina. But the water that has come in 374 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:32.240 has just been astonishing. We actually have had to hold 375 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.240 some back in storage because there's nowhere else to put it. 376 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:39.960 And what about you let me ask you this. We're 377 00:20:39.960 --> 00:20:42.960 talking about water. This is a comment from somebody on here. McGowan, 378 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:45.599 a fan, thank you for that, says, make sure you 379 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:49.920 have a gravity filter, a non electric distiller to make 380 00:20:49.960 --> 00:20:51.960 sure it's as pure as possible. I imagine that would 381 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.440 really be a priority rather than bring in the water, 382 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.680 bringing in something that's going to be able to you know, 383 00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:59.000 water filters that are gravity feed that don't have to 384 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.279 have power. I'm sure that's on your list as well. 385 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:04.240 Right well, yes, and we have folks that have sent 386 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.599 us some very good explainer videos for how people can 387 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:10.480 get those set up and what we're doing right now. 388 00:21:10.519 --> 00:21:13.559 We're in triage phase right now, and when you're in triage, 389 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:16.000 it's palettes of water and how do we manage it 390 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:19.599 for this moment. And as we get the systems in 391 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:22.640 place and we figure out how to get people through roads, 392 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.720 we have these I guess you could call them hillbilly 393 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.680 road repairs where you have a bunch of guys that 394 00:21:27.759 --> 00:21:30.160 show up and put a road back together during the night, 395 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:33.799 old school style. As we get those things fixed, then 396 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.359 we can look at more of the bigger picture, because 397 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:38.279 we have people that would like to take a shower, 398 00:21:38.359 --> 00:21:41.839 and so an item like those gravity filters is something 399 00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:43.759 that if you do it big enough and put it 400 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:45.920 up a little bit, you can actually clean with it. 401 00:21:45.960 --> 00:21:49.559