Ironically, this started out to be the shortest blog post ever from me, but became a little more lengthy. I don’t think I have it in me to be brief.

This article is quite different from “normal,” and I’m writing stream of consciousness, like we’re talking over coffee and I‘m showing you photos from my phone, which I literally am, plus a few others from the conference.

People have noticed that I haven’t posted as much recently and are asking if I’m alright, especially with the devastation from Hurricane Helene.

First, thank you for caring.

Let me make a long story short and let you know what’s going on.

I’m Fine – Others Aren’t

Compared to other people, we are fine right now.

So, here’s what happened.

I went on a business trip in early July and came home with Covid. I was sick for a week. Trust me, Covid can still kick your behind.

A week later, I went on a long-planned ancestral journey to Nova Scotia, escaping Florida just before they closed the airport for Hurricane Debby. I had tested negative for Covid by then, more than once, but I was still very tired.

Having said that, I was not going to forego any opportunity in Nova Scotia to tread where my ancestors had. So yes, I did too much and pushed too hard. No regrets. You’ll read about those adventures soon.

I returned home in time to prepare for Hurricane Helene.

Helene

I will never be able to hear that name for the rest of my life without PTSD.

Once again, aside from trees down and some missing shingles, our property is fine.

But the devastation very near where we live is unimaginable. Our coastline took a 10-foot storm surge that inundated areas never before affected.

The area North of us took the direct hit and an even higher storm surge. Entire houses floated away and collapsed.

Millions without power. Incredible devastation. Loss of life.

Our local Facebook feed is filled with horrific stories, people literally begging for assistance, as well as incredible generosity.

Here are a couple of photos taken days later.

My heart breaks for these people.

If you’re wondering why people don’t just dry things out, they are unsanitary. Think dead and rotting things and fecal matter. By the time the flood waters have receded and people can actually get back into their homes, mold has already set in.

Yet, there were trash pickers here, as people were literally carrying their ruined items, which together comprise their lives, to the curb.

Not only that, electrical wiring does not get along with water. Insulation wicks water up the walls. To say it’s a heartbreaking mess is an understatement.

And it’s like this for miles and miles and miles!

Appalachia

And then there’s Appalachia.

To give you a visual of how large the impact of Helene is, here’s a satellite view at night of the lights in the US. Above is normal. Below is after Helene – and it doesn’t even show the west coast of Florida which was dark too.

If you follow my blog, you know my father’s family is from eastern Tennessee and western North Carolins, which means I have a LOT of cousins. Not close cousins, as in the family tree, but close to my heart cousins.

Many of the communities in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina where my family lives were either entirely inundated and devastated, or washed away entirely. I still cannot make contact with one cousin and his wife, or their adult daughter.

Yesterday, a service dog group that I follow called for more cadaver dogs—retired ones, dogs in training, and anyone who can help. Many people are still missing and may never be found.

One of my cousins said it’s “like the apocalypse,” and another said they still can’t grasp what they are seeing. A third said that everyone knows people who died and that it’s a “literal hellscape.” And yet a fourth found an upside-down casket, washed out from some cemetery upstream, caught and lodged in the tree rooms of their stream that became a raging river. It’s worse than photographs and words can even begin to convey.

Wide-Ranging Effects

One thing I never fully realized before was that these types of disasters don’t just affect the people whose homes were destroyed or damaged but have effects spread much more widely. Let me give you an example.

I got sick again after I came home from Nova Scotia and needed antibiotics. This was actually the day that the hurricane struck here.

For two days, we endured the actual hurricane. They evacuated our hospitals and closed the emergency rooms, which they absolutely should have. Most, if not all, urgent cares were closed, too. That meant that those types of services further inland were entirely swamped. Not to mention people hurt in the hurricane, those injured trying to rescue people (and animals,) and survivors injured trying to salvage anything of their life in filthy flood waters.

Then, during and after the hurricane, there was no power, and an even larger area was non-functional.

As power was restored, slowly, most places were still closed. Damage – no staff – a myriad of reasons.

Power, internet, and cell service bounced up and down unreliable like a crazed ball, and it took days before all three functioned at the same time. In many locations, they still don’t.

Five days later, I finally found a telemed doctor that would take me. They wrote a prescription for the medication I needed. BUT – getting the prescriptions filled was another matter entirely.

Of the three pharmacies we have available to choose from, one had no power, one was flooded, and one had no pharmacist. They were trying to shuffle resources, including prescriptions for people. I finally got two of the three medications, but many others weren’t so lucky.

Think about it. The mail service wasn’t running. Neither was Fed-Ex here. People couldn’t get their life-saving medications. Insulin needs to be refrigerated. Local pharmacies couldn’t get shipments either. And it was even worse in Appalachia, where roads are entirely gone. Thankfully, people with private helicopters created a network and were dropping supplies and evacuating the desperately ill.

And yes, despite what the misinformation fear-mongers would have you believe, FEMA is here, on the ground, and fully staffed. All of the misinformation out there is only hurting people who need it most. Not only does it keep people outraged as a political ploy, but people who really need the funds don’t bother to apply because they believe the misinformation. Check rumors here.

Aftermath

Now, we’re living in the aftermath. Locally, hundreds of businesses are closed and may never reopen. All of those places employed people who need their income. With many fewer businesses, where are they going to find employment? How are they going to make their car and house payments?

This isn’t just physical devastation, it’s economic too and is affecting far more people than just people whose homes flooded.

The scope of the devastation, both physical and economic, is mind-boggling.

And I haven’t even mentioned the psychological effects.

East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference

Months ago, I committed to presenting at the East Coast Genetic Genealogy Conference in Maryland this past weekend. Not only had I made a commitment, I really wanted to attend to see people, my family of heart, and meet new people – not to mention the great sessions being offered.

But – I was sick. And tired.

By Wednesday, I had to make a go-no-go decision. I had been on my antibiotics for a couple of days by then, was not contagious, and decided to go, even though I was not 100%. I hate more than anything to let people down.

I’m glad I made the journey, even though I never got to attend even one session. The good news is that the sessions were recorded, and I can watch them through the end of the year. You can still register and watch too.

Another presenter became ill, and we covered their sessions for them. That’s what family does.

And yes, we are a family.

Yet another attendee had immediate family who suffered catastrophic loss during the hurricane and we were all there for that person too.

So many hugs all the way around. So many offers of help. So many people asking “what do you need” or “how can I help?”

My laptop was acting up on top of everything else. One of my friends I’ve known for years stepped in to help. I left him with my phone and laptop (that tells you just how much I trust him), communicating with my husband, as I went off to help someone else with something. That’s what we do as a community.

My immediate family and even most of my close family are gone now, except for my daughter and son-in-law. I’ve built an auxiliary family – not necessarily intentionally. It just happened. My sisters and brothers of heart. My “cousins” by blood or otherwise. I’ve met and come to love these people through genealogy.

And I do mean love.

That’s who we are in this community.

I made new friends who I really enjoyed spending time with. You know who you are!!

Normally, I’d write an article about the conference, taking you with me, but this time, just a few photos.

Mags Gaulden, (left) opened the DNA Academy, which is now a Saturday evening tradition, with somewhat of a fireside chat. Panelists are, left to right, me, Dana Leeds, David Vance, and Diahan Southard. (Thank you, Lois, for taking this photo.)

Mags’ question to the panelists was what brought us to where we are today. No one back in the day went to college to be a genetic genealogist, so how did it happen? You probably know most of my story, but you can watch the rest of the panelists’ replies on the videos. I have to say, this was incredibly interesting.

DNA Academy is supposed to be a deep dive into something.

I presented about X-DNA. I was trying to create my presentation when I was sick, as power came and went during Hurricane Helene, figuring I’d have more time to review the presentation on Friday after I arrived in Baltimore. So much for that idea – Murphy was visiting in multiple ways, including my new laptop. 

Thankfully, Dana Leeds was kind enough to put all of our presentations on her laptop, which made it easier for everyone and the transitions much smoother.

Dana Leeds presented about the Leeds Method, which, of course, is named after her. She’s using AI tools now to make it even easier.

David Vance presented about the types of DNA testing, but because he drew the short straw and went last, he didn’t really get his allotted time. Unfortunately, the speakers before him (me included) were naughty, very excited about their topics, and went a few minutes over. The audience didn’t seem to care, but Dave got shortchanged.

So Dave provided us with a QR code to a video where he explains more fully. I can’t wait to watch this!

Next, to the vendor exhibition area.

Vendors

I really like the vendor areas at conferences. So many cool innovations to be found there!

I thought someone took a photo of me with Barry Chodak (left) and Joe Garonzik, owner and Marketing Director, respectively, of Genealogical.com, but apparently not. Here they are at their booth, holding my books. I have to say this – they are both just so nice and it was lovely to finally meet them in person.

I had two scheduled book signings, but I signed books anywhere and everywhere and enjoyed hearing about everyone’s genealogical brick walls that they hope will fall. For anyone who wants one of my books, including the new color version of The Complete Guide to FamilyTreeDNA – Y-DNA, Mitochondrial, Autosomal and X-DNA , there’s a discount code, DNA24, good for 15% off for a limited time at Genealogical.com.

I also met several people who have common ancestors or common research areas. This is the best part of conferences.

Mark Thompson and Dr. David Mayer. I really enjoyed spending time with both of these gentlemen.

Kevin Borland with Borland Genetics. Check out his tools here.

Unfortunately, I never got a photo of Rob Warthen’s DNAGedcom, probably because he was so busy helping other people. He’s also on the ECGGC board and that of MitoYDNA too, I think, so he was very busy. I’m one of the people he assisted with tech challenges. You can check out DNAGedcom here.

Presentations

Janine Cloud and I presented about mitochondrial DNA. I felt awful that the scheduled presenter was ill, and it really broke my heart being forced to talk about mitochondrial DNA. Do you believe that? 😊

The most difficult presentations I’ve ever given are when I’m filling in for another presenter with their slide deck that I’ve seen exactly once, or maybe twice, to try to prep in a hurry. Since we both love this topic, Janine and I could probably have done an hour of just standup if we had to. I think Mark Thompson took this photo, too. Thank you.

Janine and I tag-teamed our other two presentations as well, but I don’t have photos of those. Nor of the FamilyTreeDNA booth.

I do have one “after” shot, though.

Camaraderie

No one planned this meetup event, but we all saw each other walking through the lobby and just organically gathered together after the last session on Sunday evening. We were all exhausted, but in a good way. Just look how joyful we were. Again, thanks to Mark Thompson for taking this photo. We should have recruited a passerby so that he could have been in the picture, too.

A huge thank you to Mags and the entire ECGGC crew, many of whom are in this photo wearing black shirts. It takes a village to pull this off, and these folks are all awesome volunteers.

They did an absolutely bang-up job, and I’m sorry I couldn’t cover this conference more comprehensively. Be sure to watch the videos.

It’s really, really difficult to travel in the evening after a long conference day because exhaustion is real. However, this time, I was very glad I was flying out Sunday evening because I had to go home and deal with Milton.

Milton, the Monster

I tried very hard to ignore the weather while in Maryland. From Friday to Sunday, things changed dramatically. Floridians don’t even think twice about a tropical storm, and a category one hurricane is concerning but not overly so. We know how to prepare. However, in 18 hours, Milton went from a category one hurricane to a category five hurricane. Say what?

The rapid intensification was unprecedented.

Now, just two weeks after Helene, I’m staring Hurricane Milton in the face. I’m trying my best stink-eye, but Milton doesn’t seem to be deterred. He’s not budging. Unless the path shifts, this hurricane is going to hit on Wednesday in much of the same area that suffered so much devastation along Florida’s western coast just two weeks ago.

The trajectory is different, which means we’ll take the bullseye instead of the side of this one. You can follow, here, if you wish.

Ironically, one of the dangers this time is all of the cleanout debris from Hurricane Helene, including appliances, drywall, and furniture that’s sitting at the curb, waiting for the haulers who are coming around to collect the belongings of the families who lived in those homes. That’s not debris in one location, but in all coastal areas from south of Tampa north to the panhandle. Milton will be throwing all that around like it weighs nothing, creating lethal projectiles.

A few minutes ago, Milton strengthened to a CAT 5 hurricane with winds of 155 MPH and a storm surge of 18 feet above normal tide. They are hoping Milton drops to a CAT 3 or 4 before landfall, but there are no guarantees about that or even exactly where the bullseye will be, other than near Tampa. Evacuations have already begun.

Hopefully, people in mandatory evacuation zones will – instead of being stubborn. If you’re in an evacuation zone, for all that’s holy, please at least EVACUATE TO SOMEPLACE INLAND! This is a monster storm approaching with unsurvivable winds and coastal surge up to 20 feet. Mother Nature is not messing around.

The challenge now is that the northbound roads are already clogged beyond capacity and local gas stations are already out of fuel. We were still short on supplies after Helene, and the stores and even the gas station are devoid of food now, too.

There’s only one way out of Florida—north. Many people are at least headed a few miles inland.

So, here’s the deal. Please hold us in your thoughts. You may not hear from me for a bit, depending on what’s happening here. I can’t exactly research and prepare articles right now. I need power and the internet, both. We had infrastructure damage to cross-country transmission lines and cell towers, not to mention water and sewer systems with Helene – and that hasn’t been completely repaired yet. The damage from this storm will be cumulative.

Chances are I’ll be fine, maybe with some damage. Fingers crossed. This is just a temporary hold on the articles we all love.

Ancestors

Because I’m a genealogist, I can’t help but think about our ancestors who had NO warning at all about devastating approaching weather. Granted, all of this has been exacerbated by climate change, but there were still tornadoes, blizzards, floods, and hurricanes in the past – and they somehow survived. Maybe by luck. Maybe they listened to ancestral stories about why you live on the hillside instead of in the valley. Maybe they watched the animals and were more in tune with nature.

And you know what, I’m exceedingly glad my affairs are in order, just in case, including a beneficiary for my DNA kits and those I manage at FamilyTreeDNA. I’m grateful that I have co-administrators for most projects as well. This is exactly why – when some type of disaster, either weather or personal, like a fire or health issue happens – we often have no warning.

Please hold all the people already suffering, along with the people facing Milton the Monster in the light, or whatever form of prayer you practice.

See Ya On the Flip Side

One of the things we do is let family members know when we’re going someplace, and when we’re OK. I’ve never met many of you personally, but after more than a dozen years together, I feel like you’re my circle of family too. Thank you.

I’ll be back soon.

Alright, I’m outta here for now. I need to see if we can find a gas station that still has fuel and make an evacuation decision. We do not yet have an evacuation order where I live, but we’re preparing.

See you overhome.