The moments when you most need to be connected

 Today is a difficult day for me. Yesterday was, too. I feel helpless as I sit back and watch my hometown devastated by flood. Making this experience all the more surreal, I was JUST THERE for 2 weeks, and drove home this past weekend. I apparently just dodged the beginning of the rains, making it home safely as Sunday tumbled into Monday. I am still exhausted from the long drive. Exhaustion and sadness do not go together well.

What does this have to do with social media? 

In this moment, I am so grateful for the connection and crowdsourced knowledge. It's not like major media outlets are right there in Montpelier to capture it all. However, the locals and friends of friends are providing updates online.

Last week I watched the 3rd of July parade on Main Street. Here's Bernie! He's a Vermont institution.

Today, I watched social media and captured the flooded views of Main Street. The photo in this tweet is from the same part of Main Street, but taken from the other side of the street.

 

VT 🇺🇸 Montpelier resident Lynnea Timpone paddle boards at the intersection of Main Street and East State Street on July 11, 2023 in Montpelier, Vermont.
📸 Kylie Cooper / AFP pic.twitter.com/kBG8ie6tWU

— Antoine D ☭ (@AD1968F) July 11, 2023

I just bought books in this store: 

A piece of my heart will always be in Montpelier, and the rest is breaking. Stay safe all of you VCFA lovelies. pic.twitter.com/Dxp0GNqga7

— Jacqui Castle (@JCastleWrites) July 12, 2023

On Twitter and Instagram, I see the devastation of places that hold so many memories for me. 

I feel the need to be connected. My mother, sisters, our husbands, and I have texted each other all day with images and videos found on social media, through our different networks. We've compiled the information, shared stories from our respective friends, and shared our sorrow. We were all together there last week, and it was sunny and lovely. Now the road to the place where we picked strawberries on the 4th is washed out. The parade route is traversed by kayaks. The State House steps where we watched fireworks are partially immersed. My mother can't get to town, not on any of the routes. She is safe, but the water is everywhere. 

I spent a few minutes thinking about how we would experience this event without social media. Would I have been aware of it as it unfolded? Would my mother have called to tell me? Would she know as much as she does about which roads are out and where the damage is? I think social media has helped people better manage and survive during this difficult time. (And now I think of hurricanes -- and how social media has helped keep the info flowing then, too.)