I thought Sunday May 22 would be a normal evening for me in Knoxville. But then around 6:15 I looked down and I have a text from my mom who lives in Joplin Missouri “I’m in a lockdown in the 15th street Walmart. Tornado Warning. We all are in the back.”
Growing up in Southwest Missouri Tornado Watches, warnings, and sirens were a part of life. Driving to tour tornado damage was what we did. Since moving to Missouri we knew what to do in a tornado – basement, closet, or bathtub as measure of last resort. Myself, and so many people in Joplin thought that the warnings and sirens of May 22 were just like any other. But they weren’t.
I was in my car at 6:45 heading to a friends house and when I got out of the car I looked at my phone and saw three text messages from my mom. “1) I’m in the restroom. Lights out. Tornado touch down. 2) We’re being hit. I love you guys. 3) I’m not hurt but trapped.”
At 7:23 I got the text “I’m safe. Still trapped. Help Here”
At 7:49 “I’m out starting to help others”
It wasn’t until midnight that I was able to hear my mom’s voice. For the hours between the text saying they were hit and up till now I’ve been glued to one media source or another. Whether that’s CNN, MSNBC, a twitter feed, or local news – anything that told me what was going on.
I’ve been riveted to news stories before, I’ve watched in horror at scenes beamed into my living room of war, natural disaster, political uprisings. I’ve even watch news scenes of locations that I’d visited or lived near. But the tornado the struck Joplin was different. It struck my hometown. I knew the streets they were calling out. I’d shopped in the stores destroyed, visited the hospital decimated. I watched in utter shock at views of buildings that were impossible before the tornado carved a path through Joplin.
Since the tornado I’ve felt this tug and pull to go back to Joplin. To do anything I could do to help. It feels like an odd type of survivor’s guilt. What I know is that I cannot stand by and watch the scenes on TV of my hometown any longer. I have decided to go home and aide in the recovery effort for some time. I am leaving Wednesday morning and driving straight through to Joplin. I will keep my facebook and twitter updated. Text and my social media will be the best way to contact me, because cell phone service is still spotty due to the devastation of the storm. Please keep the families, communities, as well as myself in your prayers. My Cell Phone is 417-529-6745
Grace and Peace,
Justin Friel
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