I stood in the driveway of Dr. Stephen Menke’s home on Thursday afternoon. As chainsaws buzzed in the background, he pointed to the black Mercedes SUV that held him, his wife, and son when the tornado hit Joplin and they were heading home from a high school commencement. The only window left in the SUV was the front windshield, and it had not been blown out only because a tree landed in the right place (on the front windshield) and protected their car.“That saved our lives,” he said. “That tree landed where it did and protected us from everything else that was flying around.”He stopped and smiled slightly.“We’re thankful to be alive.”I saw the SUV and I understood.His practice? Gone. His home? He’s unable to live there. His team members? He’s asked them to file for Missouri unemployment because there is no practice for them to work.As we talk, people walk by us carrying limbs and debris.“People are trying to help and trying to make a difference,” he said. “These people are getting limbs off my fence. I can look over there now and the yard looks almost like I did before the tornado. It almost looks normal again.”Not far from Dr. Menke’s house lives Dr. Dan Young. His father is also Dr. Dan Young. A retired dentist, the senior Dr. Young takes his hand out of his work gloves to shake mine shortly after we arrive. We make small talk as we stand in front of his son’s home. To the side of the home, a dozen people are working with chainsaws and moving tree limbs to the curb.
By Kevin HenryDedra Montgomery started to cry as I talked to her. It was late in the day on Wednesday and I had reached her on her cell phone. The Henry Schein rep was driving in Joplin after a day of helping her customers try to salvage what they could from their destroyed dental practices.“Until you’ve been here, you just can’t understand,” she said after apologizing to me for her emotions.A day later, I understood.On Thursday morning, Montgomery and fellow Schein rep Christy Beebe drove PennWell videographer Alex Bradley and me into some of the hardest hit areas of Joplin. These are the areas you’ve seen on TV behind CNN’s Anderson Cooper. These are the areas you’ve seen as the Weather Channel and Fox News cameras have panned the horizon to give you a feel of the devastation.I’ve seen those shots on TV, but once I arrived in Joplin, I understood.I understood that there’s more to the destruction that can be shown on any TV. There’s more to the pain that can be expressed through this blog or any other words typed or uttered. There’s so much more that needs to be done, and people who are living a nightmare every day are pressing on as best as they can to find some sense of normalcy.
