We live 12 blocks south of the path of the tornado and you would not even know there was anything out of order from our street. But this afternoon I decided to go into Price-Cutters to get some chops or something for dinner. I went in Connecticut to 26th St and turned west to the grocery store. Seems boring and innocent doesn't it? It is just devastating! Things have gotten so much better as all the main streets have been cleared and some people are finding places to live but when you get in there you realize it will be a long long time before things are anywhere near right. The path of this storm was so long and so wide. You go for block after block, mile after mile and you are still in the area where almost every home is just a pile of rubble and blocks for as far as you can see are just piles of rubble.
It is so sad to see the families out there still sorting through the piles looking for any memento or possession. I saw on the news today that a lady turned over a board and found her cat,alive, that had been buried for 16 days!
However there are still lots of groups helping people out. You see them everywhere.
One of our support group, Dana, has been working hard to get the word out there about the donations of gluten free food so we can be sure to reach everyone who is in real need. We have had an invitation to be on the 5:00 news on local TV on the 15th. Hope I don't sound like a dithering idiot!
That is really exciting about the news opportunity!
ReplyDeleteIt was overwhelming to see just how large an area the tornado destroyed. Two weeks later, it's still hard to wrap my head around all that needs to be done for the good folks of Joplin. I'm so grateful to know there are good folks like you, Rita, working hard to make it better.