“Volunteer House” at 2502 S. Joplin Avenue. Volunteers left messages, which were eventually preserved & moved.

May 22, 2011 started out as a typical Sunday here in Joplin.  John and I  were both home by late afternoon. He was outside doing yard work and I was on my computer. I had the TV on in the next room, so on occasion a weather alert would break in about the potential for storms in our area. Here in Southwest Missouri in the past, thunderstorm/tornado watches and warnings were pretty routine for us. We experienced so many of them in this area that never materialized that we tended to downplay, even ignore them. On this day, however, enough weather alerts started to come across the TV that we started paying a little closer attention. John was keeping an eye out on the weather while he was outside cleaning up the yard. Our neighbor was also doing the same thing next door and they were having a conversation about it, discussing the possibility of what weather might be approaching. At that point, it didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary. Boy, that would change more quickly than I could ever imagine. A little more time passed and it was at that point, I heard something that made my skin crawl. It sounded like hail was falling to the ground, but it sounded almost like kind of a chewing, grinding noise. I had never heard anything like it before and it was eerie, to say the least. And what made it all the more bizarre was that nothing was actually falling to the ground, no rain, no hail, no nothing. This was our first giant clue that something was seriously amiss. Soon after that, it seemed like the whole world went quiet; the air was still and the air pressure was stifling, almost suffocating, and it felt like the air itself was crackling. There were no sounds momentarily, no birds were chirping, no insects buzzing, all neighborhood kids and dogs had suddenly gone silent. And then, what seemed like out of nowhere, the winds picked up and it looked like a giant wall of gray mass was headed toward us. At this point, my memory went a little fuzzy, but I vaguely remember our local weatherman screaming on the TV to take cover and right after that the power went out. John, unbelievably, was still outside looking at the weather so I screamed at him at the top of my lungs to get in the house. The approaching storm was so loud I couldn’t even hear my own voice, but thankfully, John did and high-tailed it back into the house. We had no basement or any truly safe place to take cover, even our bathroom had a window, but we opted to take refuge there. We must have both been suffering from kind of a “deer caught in the headlights” syndrome, because we both just foolishly stood in the bathroom, just standing there, staring out the window, watching the storm. In retrospect, of course we should have sheltered ourselves better, that is something we are now keenly aware of. Had we been directly hit by the tornado, there is no doubt we would have been badly injured (or worse). As we watched the storm rage on, I have never been so scared in my entire life. The sounds were beyond anything I have ever heard and the combined tunnel of wind and rain was twisting and  turning in every direction: up, down, left, right, sideways, simply defying gravity, there was just no sense to it. The trees were throbbing in our backyard and debris was flying past our window. I cannot begin to describe how gut-wrenchingly awful those several minutes were as the tornado passed over us. It felt like it lasted hours and at one heart-stopping moment, it felt like the house was being picked up off the foundation and setting back down again. I wondered if the house was going to fall apart and be swept away, but thankfully, it stayed intact. Finally, mercifully, it was over and we had survived.

We walked outside after it was all over and were horrified by the debris and damage that lay around us, but had no clue of the utter obliteration that lay just a few short blocks from us. We live right off a main artery, a couple miles from I-44, so there were emergency vehicles of all kinds throughout that night, all night long, coming and going, I will never forget the sound of all the constant emergency sirens at the same time. There were so many emergency vehicles that they were lined up all the way down the road, as far as the eye could see. We would discover later that an EF-5 tornado had ripped through the heart of Joplin and was the deadliest tornado to strike the U.S. in over a half a century. It took 161 lives, injured many more, and destroyed thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses. This town came together after the tornado to help and support each other like nothing I have ever seen before. Volunteers came from literally all ends of the earth to help and people from both neighboring communities and very far away sent all sorts of food and supplies, anything they thought could help, pulling items out of their own pantries to help however they could. That spirit of volunteerism and kindness will never, ever be forgotten and will be a constant reminder to always try and pay it forward to whoever may need help in life.

The hours, days, weeks, and months that have followed the tornado have been a combination of hope, inspiration, gratitude, sorrow, hardship, challenges, and every emotion possible. Each business and home that rebuilds is greeted with celebration and triumph. The fact remains that entire neighborhoods remain flattened, and the barren landscapes are constant reminders of the challenges that we continue to face in Joplin. Personally, I have my good days and I have my bad days. Some days, I feel the overwhelming strength, hope, and inspiration that has come along with everyone helping to rebuild our community and other days I am just miserably depressed from the loss our community has faced. It’s been a roller coaster ride of emotions for sure. Today, we take time to remember the anniversary of the tornado, it is a day we will never forget. We are Joplin and we will continue to recover, to rebuild, to rejoice, and to persevere!

A look back on the past year here in Joplin (all pictures taken by myself).

In front of our house. Hey, we’re OK!!!!

Our storage unit in the middle (it’s the one with the car on top of it). The unit contained my deceased dad’s personal items, so we eventually reached it, got the car off of it and recovered what we could. The entire storage place was completely bulldozed away within less than two months after the tornado. Many units were left intact and untouched after the tornado, but they still got bulldozed away. It made me very sad and left wondering what happened to the owners of all these units. I’m sure that ones that survived were worrying about where to live, not recovering the units.

After the tornado, east of Walmart on 20th.

Clearing debris, months after the tornado and the remains of a solitary tree.

Taken within a few days after the tornado, the first house John and I lived in years back. We heard from our old neighbors that the current residents had survived by taking refuge in the small cellar.

Taken a few days after the tornado, the neighborhood a few blocks from our house.

Late summer 2012, kids playing at Cunningham Park after clean-up; St. John’s Hospital in the background.

Kindness of strangers; boxes came in from readers from nearby communities and all over the country from my online drive! All items were distributed to places and people in need and every single item very much appreciated!

Grand re-opening of Walgreens on Rangeline on 8/22/12, just three months after the tornado. It was the fastest build of a store in Walgreens’ entire history.

Aldi Grand re-opening 10/22/12, just six months after the tornado!

Follow that bus! Extreme Home Makeover comes to Joplin in October, 2012. At FEMA Housing, surprising one family with the news that they’ll be receiving one of the seven homes built!

Extreme Home Makeover Builds 7 Homes for 7 Families in 7 Days in late October, 2012! I was blessed to get to volunteer, an amazing experience!

Walmart grand re-opening in November 2012.

“Butterfly Effect: Dreams Take Flight” Mural on 15th St. & Joplin Ave., a community’s hands-on work of art and healing.

This mural project engaged over 575 children and adults, wings, butterflies and angels were drawn, it is said children saw these things wrapping their wings around them for protection during the tornado.