What They Saved: Texans Reflect on Treasures Plucked From Harvey

Each object and artefact that remain are reminder of precious memories. Beautifully captured images and stories of a ' before' Harvey phase of life. Well, life is a puzzle, unpredictable and more harsh than kind. One of those uncontrollable Life Events happened and did not give a chance to many! NYT, as slways , you gathered those moments beautifully. Survivors , may you gain hope because you still have the beauty of Life.

A "giant explosion of rainbow"
Thank you, Haley for reminding us to look for the best in all situations.

If all these people feared losing was an old ceramic lamp, an infrequently used coffee mug and ashes of dogs now deceased then I'd say these Texans must not have lost much of value at all.

Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph. Preserve your memories: they are all that's left you. --'Simon and that other guy, Garfunkle.

I cannot conceive of walking through this trauma, cannot imagine the unfathomable loss of the comfort of the familiar, to say little of those objects and images in which our hopes and dreams take anchor.

This flood should be incentive to put photos into the Cloud, i.e., Google Photo or the Microsoft version, or pick your own. which probably can't be flooded.

Beautiful memories can never be erased - these folks all have those and those sweet objects they salvaged too! Thank you for sharing...

Reading about Harvey and its aftermath has brought up memories of my Sandy recovery. After almost 5 years, I am finished rebuilding. My heart goes out to Harvey survivors since they are facing so many more problems due to the amount of rain. I had over 6' of water during Sandy and lost a lot but also was able to salvage much more than I ever dreamed. The items I miss the most are my high school and college yearbooks. I can always get copies but can never replace the comments my classmates wrote. As a personal organizer, I tell clients that a natural disaster puts things in perspective about the clutter we all accumulate. You really focus on what you need and realize it's not that much. Having less stuff and appreciating the new look of my home makes me very happy. However, surviving a storm is traumatic and believe me you are at your worst when you have to make some of the hardest decisions. Harvey survivors, I know it looks bleak but you will find the strength to go on even when you find yourself crying constantly or become enraged or jealous of others who have a home and the stability you used to have. You'll also find out who your friends are and you maybe surprised by the outcome.Go with your feelings and recognize you have had a huge loss and you need time to grieve.

Like so many, I was incredibly moved by this article and photographs. Massive and large scale disaster are so often beyond an individual's ability to suitably comprehend. Such a personal, specific and intimate story as this tears down the barriers to comprehension and let's those of us who are unaffected understand better what it feels like to suffer loss like this.
It is ludicrous, disrespectful and insane for the leader of our country to lambast media for being fake when you see how real, empathetic, dignified and professional news stories can be, and how they almost always are from the New York Times. This is superb journalism.

Wonderful article. Evokes after Superstorm Sandy when you'd talk to someone or read in the local paper about a found article and how much it meant in memories, but often also how much it reminded people that as important as it was, that the reality was that things weren't nearly as important as survival.
Also, the pictures of the mounded up garbage was a flashback to Rockaway post Sandy.
Thanks.

What can you say...but ...God Help You All....and God Help the people in the path of Irma....there are some things in life that no human being can control...and these resilient souls are an inspiration to us all !!....God Bless

Lovely idea. Thanks. As big $ and"true believers" separate us it's important to remember our common humanity.

i just wanted to say...the photographer did a beautiful job of presenting each person with dignity...excellent photos.

I don't want to say I liked this article yet I did. With all the damage it seems saying like is just wrong.There is only one very small thing I would change. I would put the pics of the humans before their beloved item (left to right)....for me those are the true treasures of this storm.

My parents' house burned down in 1990 in a California wildfire. They only managed to get out their two caged birds and a box of cookies. What we missed most was the photos, scrapbooks, and diaries. Only the very personal stuff can never be replaced.

The perseverance and unity of the individuals affected by the Hurricane Harvey has been present since the calamity occurred. The people of Houston have come together in an incredible way to help each other through the tough times that have passed and that lie ahead. Despite the communal victory of unity, many family suffered tragic losses of material things and, in rare, devastating cases, loss of a loved one. The trite saying that material things do not matter runs rampant throughout our lives, but how true is it really? When material things and belongings are connected to the memories of our loved ones their loss begins to take a toll on our emotions. The families who survived the tragedy are so grateful to have stayed safe, while mourning the loss of precious mementos that they have gathered along their journeys. From a mother's mug to a hand writing card, people hold onto things that give them hope and make them feel loved. Of course these material items can be replaced, but the small amount of hope or relief that we receive from having them is a sad loss to many of the victims of Hurricane Harvey. The ashes of pasted pets have a great sentimental value to anyone who has ever own an animal, especially Mrs. Cox and those of her three dogs. She may not have the dogs anymore, but the thought of the destroy mementos of her deceased pets would haunt her. The family affected by the hurricane have a lot of healing to do, and hopefully can stay unified during the process.

The immediacy and intimacy of loss goes deep in this article. As we pray for these folks, and contribute to funds to help from afar, we see a kind of rebalance that must happen in our lives.... and this from our own loss here: 1m acres of wildfires in Montana. Our hearts go out to all the suffering.

I wish we could have seen the dog that's "out there right now."

At the end of the day the most valuable thing is your life and the lives of your loved ones. We become so attached to things especially when we lose them through something like this. The feeling and sentiment for the objects will always be with you and maybe will be even more dear because as is usual we often take treasures and mementos for granted until they are gone. It's just stuff and the world's full of stuff with new memories to be made

Such is the nature of all the stuff we acquire and cling to. Stories like this makes one wonder why we do it in the first place. I have a box of dog ashes out in my garage too taking up space. I don't really need the space for anything else so I'm not sure why I even keep them. Someone charged me a lot of money for that fancy box with the silly little key and lock that putting in someone calls their job. Isn't that really the point of everything these days? So much for the deep meaning of life.

Powerful! The most important possessions of all are memories, which can be triggered by the smallest of objects and preserved by sharing them with the people we love.

As I learned to cope with personal loss almost beyond bearing, I found that letting go of things - and even memories - was what was best. May the survivors of Harvey find their own way. For all of us, any given devastating event is almost guaranteed not to be the last.