Hello from Gaysville Island, and thank you to everyone who has expressed concern and has reached out to us. And special thanks to our manager Scott Florance for keeping people updated on FB. As many of you know I am "internet challenged" but because of my friend and communication savvy neighbor Craig Riggs, I am writing a note to everyone from his house located high up in Gaysville's upper region, I also have cell service up here.... hell maybe I should just move in! [ Just kidding Craig.... ] I missed the unforgiving rain on Sunday because I was out on the left coast with the band. The weather channels were very informative about the lack of damage to NYC and New Jersey but when they tracked the storm on the Doppler and had the red zone right in central VT I knew some shit was going down.
It was very hard being away from Lori and the boys and not having communication, but because my wife is a Rock my presence was not needed. When getting back to Vermont, Jeff Berlin drove me as far as he could in his truck up Hunger Mountain on the Barnard side and I hiked over the pass (before it was passable by vehicle) and into a very surreal scene: the day was beautiful and the hike was pleasant, aside from my concern about family and friends. Rt 107 was deserted except for some people walking around wondering what to do and the occasional ATV; then I saw the waterfall over the demolished highway and noticed the grey brown churning locomotive snake plowing through what once was a meandering scenic inviting river. I quickly crossed the bridge that miraculously escaped what many other bridges did not in the area. I made it home to my house to find everyone fine, and while isolated without power and a bit shaken, otherwise unscathed. We are lucky, many around here are not, many friends and neighbors lost everything. As an over-privileged, overfed dreamer, I feel helpless and humbled to the core by the power of Mother Nature. Sometimes us humans just get in the way of what is inevitable yet unpredictable. Nothing could have prevented this (well maybe if we were nicer to her she would be nicer to us, but that is another discussion). I am equally blown away by the resilience, vigor and talent displayed by my fellow Vermonters. The sense of community is immense and the rate at which folks are putting things back together is more than impressive. The people who run the heavy equipment, untangle high voltage wires from bucket trucks teetering on unstable ground, and risking their lives just getting supplies in and folks out are real heroes. We actually have power and plenty of food, and roads are expected to be connected for car travel in the next few days. Predictions from the talking heads were "six months before any restoration." That still may be the case in some places but just like you can't underestimate the power of the river, you can't underestimate the determination of folks around here.
We are not out of the woods yet. The flow of adrenaline is starting to wither after three days and nothing will be normal for a long time to come. I am sure a test of endurance is in our near future as we try and pick up the pieces and get ready for winter. There is already talk of a relief fund concert and you can be sure Perfect Trainwreck will be going full steam ahead in making sure it is successful. Until then we will be working on recording our new record, ironically called EDEN, and dusting off some old songs about rivers and floods and such in hopes of putting this all in perspective.
Big Love to all,
Bow, Lori, Rye, River... oh and Libby too.