Personal account of Lucy Bickers
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Personal account of Lucy Bickers
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English
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In all of the pain, misery, and shock we are feeling, I wanted to share some positive things that have come out of this disaster. As I was walking home today, a neighbor came up his driveway to talk to me. I’d watched this man deteriorate physically and apparently mentally over the last 5 or so years. He walked slower and slower over time, often not recognizing me, depending on his wife to support him as he walked. It was sad to watch.
Today, he strode up to me, his head held high, making eye contact as he greeted me, and talking clearly and sensibly. I was so pleasantly surprised! It was wonderful to see the difference this catastrophe had made in his life.
A friend has a neurodivergent, adult son who has been isolating for a couple (or more) years. I remember when he was a kid, laughing and playing. Many sad things have happened as he got older, and he refused to even come out of his room to say hi.
Last week, I went over there and he came out and gave me a big hug. I almost cried because I was so happy for him. His mom said he’d been forced to interact with neighbors to get things taken care of, and he was physically involved as well clearing trees and brush. It did my heart good to see him like this.
Finally, and more dear to my heart, my best friend and housemate, Michael, has spent so much time since Eddie died 12 years ago trying to keep an eye on me, helping when he can by cutting grass, collecting and chopping firewood, and various other necessities. But he’d been mostly isolating, watching tv and getting angrier and angrier each day. I would try to get him to go places with me, but he usually refused. This despite the fact that he likes talking to people, has a totally twisted sense of humor, and is really smart in an obsessive sort of way. It made me sad and worried to watch him.
Then our neighbor, Meg, came over and asked him to help her put her generator on his pickup and go to the Swannanoa Library park in order to charge people’s phones after the storm. He found his calling! He got to talk to all kinds of people, make new friends, move around for hours, make truly twisted puns, and have a great time helping people. And he lost weight!
I have to remember that I know of nothing that is all good or all bad. And I can be grateful even as I cry for what is lost.

Meg Murphy and Michael Burgess
Today, he strode up to me, his head held high, making eye contact as he greeted me, and talking clearly and sensibly. I was so pleasantly surprised! It was wonderful to see the difference this catastrophe had made in his life.
A friend has a neurodivergent, adult son who has been isolating for a couple (or more) years. I remember when he was a kid, laughing and playing. Many sad things have happened as he got older, and he refused to even come out of his room to say hi.
Last week, I went over there and he came out and gave me a big hug. I almost cried because I was so happy for him. His mom said he’d been forced to interact with neighbors to get things taken care of, and he was physically involved as well clearing trees and brush. It did my heart good to see him like this.
Finally, and more dear to my heart, my best friend and housemate, Michael, has spent so much time since Eddie died 12 years ago trying to keep an eye on me, helping when he can by cutting grass, collecting and chopping firewood, and various other necessities. But he’d been mostly isolating, watching tv and getting angrier and angrier each day. I would try to get him to go places with me, but he usually refused. This despite the fact that he likes talking to people, has a totally twisted sense of humor, and is really smart in an obsessive sort of way. It made me sad and worried to watch him.
Then our neighbor, Meg, came over and asked him to help her put her generator on his pickup and go to the Swannanoa Library park in order to charge people’s phones after the storm. He found his calling! He got to talk to all kinds of people, make new friends, move around for hours, make truly twisted puns, and have a great time helping people. And he lost weight!
I have to remember that I know of nothing that is all good or all bad. And I can be grateful even as I cry for what is lost.

Meg Murphy and Michael Burgess
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Lucy Bickers, “Personal account of Lucy Bickers,” Come Hell or High Water Community Memory Project, accessed January 13, 2026, https://helenehistory.omeka.net/items/show/678.