Little More Joplin at January's End

The winter feels odd here. No snow, temps moderate in the daytime hours, and nights are chilly but not frigid. A friend of mine this week said she feels like she is  suspended, waiting for something to happen. I think that is a shared feeling here. The warm temps sometimes reaching almost 70 in January remind us this is another form of weather extreme. At the back of our minds is the coming spring. Just how turbulent will the winds be THIS year?


Then again the dry, warm weather is a blessing in that the people can clean up Joplin, rebuild, get a fresh start on a new life without some intense winter weather. Heaven knows that the people suffered enough this spring with the F5 followed by radical and punishing heat of summer.


Today was beautiful weather...sun warm and breeze gentle. After a nice lunch with friends, we drove around Joplin witnessing the rebuilding that was uplifting to see. There is still a lot of demolished houses and spots with  bare earth showing, but optimism and anticipation abound too. Among other things we saw the block of homes done on the Home Makeover Program. Ty and his bunch left some beauties here.

Today St. John's Hospital had a celebration of ground breaking for the new hospital. They also had a ceremony where the wrecking ball smacked the husk of a building that the F5 left. It was both a sad memory and a happy hope for the new.