There are many restaurants in the Western North Carolina area which may never recover from the torrential rains and subsequent floods which we experienced over the past week. The Melting Pot, simply told employees to, "Look for another job", others, without flood insurance, are doing their best to clean up and try to salvage their equipment, and business. As Buncombe and Henderson counties are under a boil water advisory, restaurants which are able to prove (through inspection) that their toilet facilities are capable of flushing are permitted to remain open. Those without are forced to close. Our restaurant was fortunate...in a sadistic way...the health department permitted us to remain open only to have the local media hype up the restaurant closings, rather than announce those which were permitted to remain open and took extra effort to ensure the safety of the public and provide a service for those unable to cook at home or simply tired of putting up with all of the troubles caused by the flood and wanted to escape for an evening. We saw the slowest Friday night since we opened. I called the local news station to protest their handling of the situation and the producer informed me that Red Lobster had voiced a similar complaint. There are restaurant employees out of work by the hundreds and since many rely on gratuities for income, they face an uncertain future and an uncomfortable present. Many of us in the hospitality business, unfortunately, work paycheck to paycheck and a natural disaster makes an unsteady financial situation, well, disasterous. Federal aid has been approved following the declaration of 15 WNC counties as disaster areas. This aid will take time to flow into the hands of those who need it. In the mean time, friends, family, and public charity are the only options for those unable to save for a rainy (floody) day. As I type this, I remind myself of another disaster. 9/11. I was in the pantry getting ready for lunch service when someone told me that a private plane had crashed into the WTC. I simply replied that a bomber crashed into the Empire State Building and it didn't suffer much damage...I then walked to the bar and immediately thought of the staff at Windows of the World...doing the same thing as I was doing...slicing and dicing and getting ready for lunch service. I remind myself of those in the service sector during disasters. I feel the pain of those who have worked at a restaurant for years to loose it to the elements or extreme event. I honor those lost and those who survive. Especially those who went on to places like Noche, and continue with those who were close to them. Take this time to reflect on all of the good things in your life. Make the most of it and if you can, stop by that restaurant which is filled with debris and lend a hand in cleanup.