Different Colors

There is no way to accurately describe Joplin.
Driving in from the north, entering the city it appears fine, normal even.There is the usual hustle and bustle; lives seem to carrying on as they would everyday. But as you head farther south, deeper into the city, the parking lots get fuller; you start to see soldiers standing in the street, either waving cars on or turning them around.

And then it all just stops.

I can't say that the scenery was unworldly, because it was objects that I recognized, but the colors of the city are different. The soft and calm greens, blues, and browns of Joplin are now miles of  reds, oranges, and blacks. The hot colors create an organized chaos. Restlessness and urgency fight the law. Fire engines race through the streets, and although there were no fires, you could feel a smoke of self-defeat. Large spray-painted Xs haunt all the buildings and cars. The mixed feeling of the joy of finding something that survived the storm and the agony of remembering the love ones who didn't. Heat and tiredness. It seem to go on forever.
Slowly hope and determination are starting to uncover the original colors of city, and push back the heated colors of destruction.
Slowly....

Do Not Self-Deploy...

I just finished gathering the gear I will need to bring to Joplin tomorrow. After a week of seeing images of destruction, watching scouts raise money, hearing stories from my cousins (who went to Joplin 13 hours after the storm) I was aching to go; and now I'm going. Truth be told, I was jealous of the first response team. There I was, only 55 miles from the need, and I couldn't really do anything about it. Non-medical volunteers were asked to not 'self-deploy' and then they began to issue permits. So many of my acquaintances had been there and back, and well I just really wanted to go. But now I'm going. I'm going with a warning that I may find a victim, alive-but most likely dead. I'm going knowing that neighbors are stealing from neighbors. I no longer envy the first response workers. It takes amazing endurance to do what they have had to do for the last five days, in severe weather no less.
I'm going, and I will keep going and going and going... Joplin you've had an amazing first response teams (my hat's off to them), but you're going to have a awesome second, third (and so on) response crew!