When the winds blow....

In May 2007, Greensburg, Kansas a little town of about 1200 people was completely wiped off the face of the earth by a massive tornado.  I really thought that I had seen the worst damage that could possibly be done by a twister.   However, that all changed when we went through Joplin, Missouri last Saturday night.

Just to give you an idea, the number of deaths from the Joplin tornado is currently listed at 160.  This makes it the deadliest tornado in the United States in over 50 years.  I grew up in a small town about 45 miles from there.  I remember in my youth going there several times a year.  As I drove through the streets of that once prosperous town of 40000 people, I had a very difficult time finding landmarks that were recognizable.

We were given a tour of the destruction by a friend of ours who is a firefighter for the Joplin Fire Department.  He gave us a quick one hour tour of the damage.  The stories that he told as we drove through the destruction amplified the feelings of sadness by the devastation of an area that I used to roam.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words so we will show as many as we can, but I can honestly say that to get the full effect it must be seen with the naked eye.  I hope that no one will ever again have to experience that kind of total devasation.

We are currently staying at my childhood friend's house, and look forward to the time that we will have together.  Happy Trails!

The Good With the Bad

Dean, the husband
Shalane, the wife

When you’re on vacation, is it worth it to get up early to go have breakfast with friends?  6 a.m. is sleeping in during the school year, but, for summer break, it’s insanity!   This was the question that we had to ask ourselves yesterday morning.  The answer was a resounding YES!   

We met our friends, Bill and Tammy, at their house at 7 a.m. and we all drove together to a little “mom and pop” diner near the Silver Dollar City area of Branson, MO.  It appears as if the owners of the establishment bought an old gas station and converted it into a little country restaurant.  It’s so adorable, and I had always wanted to eat there, so I was super excited to find out that that‘s where we were going.   At first glance, one would think that it was a little over priced.   DEAN would think it was over priced.  After all, a mini-stack of ONE pancake costs $3.95!   Bill assured me that it would be a good sized pancake, and when they brought it out, I quickly changed my mind.  It was easily the biggest pancake I have ever seen and well worth the price!  To top it off, it tasted as good as it looked!  Billy Gail’s Café is definitely, a place to stop if you are in the area.   Get there early though.  The place was packed by 8 a.m.!  

It was truly wonderful to be able to spend time with friends that we haven’t seen in so long.  They even took us on a nice tour of the area.  It was great to get caught up on their ten children and to catch them up on ours.  They are a truly blessed family, and we are better for knowing them.    Dean’s right.  We all have friends that, though we may not see or talk to them often, somehow make us better people.  There’s a list of people in all of our lives, that we just feel blessed and honored to know, and we give thanks for those timeless relationships.

We did have a chance to get over to the IMAX theater one more time before we left.   We saw, “Born to Be Wild.”  It was a show about baby elephants and orangutans and the woman who have dedicated their lives to their rescue and survival. I LOVED it! It was SO CUTE! Dean was disappointed that it didn't have more video of the scenery and almost fell asleep.    Also, my wife was able to get her slice of blackberry cobbler that she had been wanting since we got to the Ozarks.   I got it at McFarland’s in the IMAX complex.  IT WAS AMAZING!  Truthfully, it was so good, I had to sit on my hands to keep myself from clapping out loud!  :o)  (Now that would have been a sight.  My wife trying to eat that cobbler while sitting on her hands!)

With a pocket full of happy memories, a tummy full of all that’s good,  and an empty wallet to prove it, it was time to head back to Oswego. On our way, we went through Joplin, MO, the town of 40,000 that had an F5 tornado roll through in late May of this year.  For tomorrow’s blog  I will write about what we saw and experienced there.  We were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the damage by some more good friends of ours that live just north of Joplin.  The husband is a firefighter for the city of Joplin and spent many hours assisting in the search and rescue, so the tour was very informative.   Until tomorrow, Happy Trails!

When You Have Lost Everything, How Do You Press Forward? Day 5

May 4, 2007, started out like any other day in the Kansas prairie town of Greensburg.  Flowers were in bloom, kids were playing, and it all seemed like a typical spring day for its 1400 residents.  However, by 10 pm that night, there would be nothing "typical" about it.  The town of Greensburg, famous for having the largest hand dug well in the world, would now be known as the town that was completely destroyed by a F5 tornado. 

No, we didn't get hit by a tornado. This is just an impressive dustdevil in Oklahoma.

As we traveled through that town yesterday, we were shocked by the complete destruction of the entire town. (The best hour long documentary of it that I have found online is on YouTube: http://www.youtube.co/watch?v=08PM3YEqBcE&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1 .   Five minutes into it will show you the first video of the aftermath & 10 minutes will show the first sights of it the next morning. )  Four years later, there are few original trees left.  Slabs of concrete are all that remained in many parts of the little town where houses and buildings once stood.  We drove to the site of the hand dug well, only to see the remnants of what used to be a building which I suspect was used to give tours.  A steel flagpole (shown to the right) was twisted in the midst of the ruins next to the site.  As one might imagine the population of Greensburg has declined substantially since that infamous day.

Inside the Grean Bean Coffee Shop/Deli

Now for the good news, Greensburg is making a comeback.  In order to prepare for this new century, they decided to pick a "Green" theme to draw people into their town.  It only seems right that Greensburg would chose to go green.  As we drove around the town there were solar panels, wind turbines, and various other "green" technology in place.  Across from the site of hand-dug well was a interesting visitor center showcasing the new technology being used.  A sweet lady inside took us on a tour of the new things being used in town.  (I even had the opportunity to get inside of an egg shaped storm shelter that should be able to survive any tornado.)  Sadly, many people had no choice but to leave their town to seek employment elsewhere, as there were no businesses left.  However, there were some that were fortunate enough to be able to stay in their hometown.  I hope that they will one day be able to see the rich rewards of their vision.  (At 53 minutes into the above mentioned youtube documentary you will see their 'green' vision for the future.)  If you ever find yourself in Greensburg, I recommend the "Green Bean" coffee shop/deli/ice cream parlor!  It even has free wifi for those needing to connect to the internet. 

Solar powered art studio in Greensburg

This sink is located on top of the toilet.  As you wash your hands it refills the tank for the next flush.

On a side note, I was able to see my native state of Kansas for the first time in over 5 years.  I know that there are many people out there that think it is a boring state.  Both my wife and I love to find the beauty of all things.  It is not hard to find if you will just take the time to look.  I'm really looking forward to our return to southeastern Kansas in a few days.  After seeing first hand what can happen to a town in the blink of an eye, I know that I will more truly appreciate the time I spend in my hometown when we make a short visit there.  Happy Trails everyone! As I mentioned yesterday, my wife is with her mom for a couple of days.  She will be back soon!