In May 2011 Joplin Missouri was hit heavily by a massive Tornado which left the center of the town in a complete desaster.

The Tornado was 1 mile (1.6km) catastrophic EF5, multiple-vortex.

 

As a volunteer with the Salvation Army I was deployed for two weeks from, May 31st to June 14, 2011 to assist with the victims with the aftermass.  I have to say that I have  never-ever saw anything like that before in  my entire life, nor since. The center of that town no longer existed, period. What I saw was like being in a Surreal composition day in and day out.

 

I actually drove the Double  wide like trailor from Chicago to Joplin Missouri. Never driven anything like that in life before and must admit my venture started as soon as I got behind the wheel. 

 

University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) provided me with a Solo Show and honorarium to share and discuss this experience. My documentry contains over 900 photographs, however I selected 40 of those for the exhibit. Some of the photos selected for the show were digitally incorporated. They were transfered onto a special kind of photo-foundation and hung from the  ceiling of the exhibit space ceiling. The idea behind doing the exhibit this way was to create  a certain kind  of visual appeal one where people had to look up. The photos actually provided  movement adding to a sense of travelling motion.

 

As we put these particular webpages together please come along on my journey.  

 

I saw homes next to  homes and across from homes that never were touched as if the Tornado picked  which ones to strike. Some homes interior were intact while the exterior was totally distroyed. As one of the Salvation Army Disaster Services Canteen drivers I had the opportunity to meet some really nice folks. My job was  a part of the Wellness Check team. We prepared meals and drove through the neighborhoods that were indirectly hit by the Tornado. People lost loved ones, along with precious memories and working utilities. 

 

I could see fear in their eyes although it had been weeks since the evil struck. The thought of it happening and that it could happen again. One man  had stopped to speak with us and shared he and his son's encounter with us on one of the  hottest days yet to come. The dark skinned man with a slight southern tone described his encounter like this. It was on a Sunday afternoon and we'd just got in from church. The sun hadn't totally gone done it. The sky did not tell us that anything even near this was coming. There were no sound alarms going off at all. The thing just come from out of no where. I heard the winds picking up and then sounds like a locomative, ya know? Like a train  or something like that. Then all of a sudden the Tornado alarms started going off. We live near the Hight School so the alarms seem to have gotten very loud. I got my child grabbed the mattress off his bed and we both got into the bathtub and covered up and waited it out. Afterwords, my son ran to our front door and when he opened it he let out a holler I've never heard coming from him before. He cried for what seemed for hours.

 

Another young lady befriended me and her story went like this. "I saw the sky getting grayer and darker but I thought it was just a storm coming. We've had storms before no big deal. I didn't hear any alarms going off and my neighbor was out back Bar B Que'n. Then all of a sudden it got so damn dark. Winds was blow'en some'n aweful. The rain was pouring and whip'en around. I looked out my front window and there it was. It was huge and it looked like it was coming in my direction. I ran out of my front door and down the stairs and was about a few houses down when it dawned on me, where am I going? I don't have anyone here and besides if it's going to get me it got me. I turned back around and went back into my house. I prayed and waited it out."

 

I met her neighbor. He was the one doing the BBQ in his back yard. The older causian gentlemen said, " Naw! I wasn't going to stop my B-B-Q because that thang was so dang-gone huge where was I going? I just bought all this here meat and been looking forward to this right here. It was gone be what it was gone be."

 

One lady and her tub were lifted up by the Tornado and tossed miles from her home. She was fortunate to end up with a broken leg. Joplin's main hospital was up rooted and placed miles from its original site. There were reported that of 1, 150 injuries this does not include found deaths. 

 

From the photographs you will see that many of the Joplians have a sense of humor even in the midst of unknown darkness. 

 

If you look closely at  some of the photographs you will see plenty of crosses. The crosses just appear within the destroyed landscapes. Trees were up rooted. 

 

Many of  Joplin residents just wanted someone to talk with. When I asked some if they wanted to pray with me they responded with, "I'm all prayed out." Or, "I no longer know where my faith lies." It was disturbing from that perspective. 

 

I met people from all over who had come just to see how they could help. On one side of the coin it's great to see people come together assisting one another as they can. On the  other side of the same coin, why do it take moments like these to force us? 

 

View: YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT7CtF5ljxy 

Be Prepared: Running out into the streets is not a plan.