Joplin Tornado Part I

A lot has been going on recently, I hardly know where to start!  Things may be blogged backwards; I’ll do my best to keep things in order.

Saturday morning we received a call from Gail that Greg’s brother Rick had passed away.  Rick had been fighting cancer for some time and finally left our world peacefully at home with his wife Cinda and daughter Satina.   We decided on Saturday evening that we would leave Sunday for Joplin so we could attend his Memorial service scheduled for Wednesday. 

Sunday morning I went to work for a bit and Jeff got things ready, we finally loaded up the car and set out after lunch, in time for Clare’s nap.  Kansas is still flat and boring, nothing’s changed since our last trip across I-70.  We stopped in Salina for some gas and dinner, hoping that Clare would fall asleep after and we’d be able to make it the rest of the way, getting us to Joplin around midnight.  As we pulled off the road Jeff received a voice mail from Gail, he laughed and passed the phone to me so I could listen to the message.  Gail frantically told us that Joplin had been hit by a tornado and to ‘turn around and go home, do not come to Joplin!’

After filling the car and heading to the local Chili’s we decided that we’d find a hotel, thank goodness for the iPhone, and see how things looked in the morning.   As soon as we checked into our room at the Hampton Inn we turned on the Weather Channel, we had no trouble finding the news about Joplin; it’s all they talked about.  Clare took a bath and we tried to get her to bed, she was having none of it, she finally fell asleep around 10:30, it was a looong day!  Jeff and I continued to watch the news and talk about the devastation that was Joplin. 

Monday morning brought more pictures of Joplin, it was clear that things were not good.  The news reporters were continuing to talk to people about their experiences in the storm, the hospital that was directly hit and the mass destruction the tornado caused.  We decided to stick around the hotel and take our time; we weren’t in any rush.  While I ran into Kohl’s for some ‘help clean up’ clothes rather than my Memorial service clothes Jeff talked with his Dad.  Gail strongly suggested that we go back home, but Jeff felt as though he needed to go and see everyone, so we headed out of town and towards Joplin. 

The drive from Salina to Joplin is mildly more ‘entertaining’ than the I-70 scenery, things are a bit hillier, and there are more small towns and the occasional point of interest.  I learned that I enjoy the name of Chanute Kansas, and that Pittsburg has a tiny shopping mall.  We stopped in Pittsburg for some linner (was a little late for lunch but too early for dinner) and to pick up some water and food.  I typically am not a fan of Wal-Mart, but when in southeast Kansas you can’t be picky, so Wal-Mart it was.  We loaded the cart with water, Gail and Greg had no water at their house, and some food for Clare, and we were guessing we wouldn’t be going out to eat much. After a quick parking lot diaper change we loaded up again and headed for Joplin. 

Members of the Junkins family were camped out at Julie and Jerry’s who live in Webb City and hadn’t lost power or water, so rather than head to Gail and Greg’s we went there.  Someone had been busy cooking for everyone; there was dinner ready when we walked in the door.  Clare was more than happy to get down and visit with everyone; she was happy to out of the car and have people to play with. We spent the evening visiting and talking about the damage.  We finally headed for Greg and Gail’s so Clare could go to bed, everyone was looking forward to a good night’s sleep, it’d been a long two days.

The drive from Julie’s house was slow; we took Range Line, one of the main roads thru Joplin and had been hit.  Looking out the window it was hard to believe what we were seeing, the damage was unbelievable, and this was at night!  There were storefront signs all over the place, power poles snapped in half or completely knocked down, windows blown out, billboards were hanging down, metal was bent around poles and buildings had clear damage.  The Home Depot was completely gone, the Wal-Mart had serious damage, the liquor store was completely gone, Academy Sports was just a few pieces of scrap metal, and various other businesses were seriously damaged, if not totaled.

After 28 hours we finally reached our final destination, Greg and Gail’s, it felt good to be at our resting spot.  Clare had some trouble going to sleep, but she finally settled down after a bit.  Jeff and I were both pretty tired; falling asleep wasn’t difficult for us. 

To say that Joplin has survived a devastating tornado would be putting it nicely.  The town is not the same; it will take months if not years to rebuild.  The clean up process will take weeks; I can’t imagine where they will put all the debris.  I hope that everyone is able to pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward, starting over is difficult but necessary, what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.