We were out today, and when we got home, my sister called me to tell me of a tornado that hit Joplin earlier that evening. This is the town my dad is from, and we still have family living up there. Thankfully, they were all north of the tornado's path and are all fine, but I know it will take a long time to recover from this.
You can see a map of the tornado's path
here. The houses where my dad grew up, including the one my
grandparents lived for almost 40 years (until my grandma died in 1982), as well as all of the old houses of relatives were in the path.
I am so proud of my cousin Tracy, who was supposed to have her graduation ceremony for her nursing degree this Thursday. She immediately went out and started providing aid to those who needed it.
While John might have left Home Depot on not-so-good terms (at least with one guy), the store has been a big part of our lives these past eight years. One of the first reports we heard was that the store in Joplin was gone along with the Walmart. We couldn't believe that because of how big the stores were. We visited that Walmart several times when we went up to Joplin for a
family reunion a couple of years ago.
Their signature orange accents are about the only way to tell where Home Depot was. Here are some pictures that people took of The Home Depot, Walmart, Academy, and the hospital.
This
site has a lot of before and after pictures that give you an idea of the utter devastation.
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