Writing Op Coming

It is certainly no secret the world around Joplin has been on tilt for days. One doesn't have to lose a house or a loved one to be affected by the deep pain and sorrow of Joplin residents. The pool of anguish leaks out like an oil slick on the ocean, reaching far and wide eventually. Even simple things that one takes for granted like a doctor's office, source for car parts, a favorite sandwich, a grocery store with low carb foods, and more are suddenly off the radar for everyone, not just the immediate area people. Local towns and shopping areas have to pick up the slack. With a boil order in Joplin, even the restaurants are closed or an hour behind in service due to complications of cooking.

But no words of praise are enough to shout the thanks to everyone in this area and beyond who came, many without even being called. The need was there and good people answered. Team after team, church after church, individual folks both trained and untrained showed up to shoulder the cleanup, the work, the worry and even the sharing of tears.

The highway is full of wagons and buses and trucks hauling food, water and necessities into the Joplin area. Coming back from a Springfield doctor appointment this week, we passed a school bus loaded with diapers, water, non-perishable food items. We all thumbed up each other, shared the lump in our throats. This need won't be over in a week or two, not even a month or two. We must remember to pray and support Joplin for quite a while.

With that in mind, the Joplin Writers' Guild and the Missouri Writers' Guild are going to join forces to produce a small book of weather related stories and poems. The proceeds from the book sales will all go to the Joplin school system to buy books for the libraries they lost. Two grade schools, a high school, and a Catholic grade school were lost that I know of right now. Estimates are in the millions to replace these schools and the fall term is only three months away! So be thinking about your poems and stories of storms-snow, ice, wind, rain. The JWG officers met today to develop some guidelines that will be posted soon. Watch here for more information as it develops.

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Sunday afternoon: Guidelines just went up at:http://stormcountry.wordpress.com
Feel free to pass this info on and to ask me any questions.