Bel Gets Real: Finger of God (Updated)

I’m taking a bit out from the normal game posts to throw up something very important, and very near and dear to my heart.  Yesterday we were sitting at home, completely oblivious to these events until my wife started seeing some messages come through on Twitter.  It had been such a lovely day in the Tulsa area, that I never even thought that Tornados might have been a brewing.  They apparently were, and just across the Missouri state line Joplin was completely devastated.

joplin

This one hits really close to home for me.  Joplin is one of two towns that I would move to in a heartbeat if given the chance.  The town has an amazingly cool vibe, and before these events had 6 amazing used book stores we would frequent.  In fact we were there just two weeks ago, when we took my wife’s mother shopping for Mothers Day.  So when I sit back and realize that we have bags in the kitchen that we never unpacked, from stores that simply no longer exist is pretty hard to take.

Our first panic moment was trying to get hold of my Wife’s mother.  She lives near Joplin just on the other side of the Oklahoma line, and the town has always been her major shopping destination for when she needs to run errands.  When we couldn’t reach her on the cell phone, we began to fear the worst.  Luckily she had travelled to Tulsa Sunday, and was also blissfully oblivious to the nightmare happening just across the state line.

I’ve lived in “Tornado Alley” my entire life, and I have seen the devastation they bring on numerous occasions.  While in the past I have known the towns they have hit here in Oklahoma, I’ve never had a really close personal attachment.  This one hurts so much, because I know this town so well.  The town had so much personality, packed into a compact area.  I am really hoping that everything bounces back and the new Joplin is an even better place.

Here is the thing, it is going to take a lot of work to get there and the groups are going to need help.  As a result I am devoting this post to getting out information for how folks in the surrounding area can help.  When stumbling around for the support numbers I came across a post on a political blog (The Source), something I would never normally read.

You can donate to the State of Missouri’s Red Cross Fund for Tornado and Flood Relief, or you can call 800-427-4626.

Those with medical skills looking to volunteer in Joplin are being asked by the Missouri Emergency Management Agency to visit showmeresponse.org to sign up.

From the Missouri Department of Public Safety:

A list of major non-profits that operate regularly in Missouri can be found by visiting the National Donations Management Network Web site. At the site you can donate directly to your preferred charitable organization by clicking on the organization’s name. In addition to making financial donations, you may donate products and services, or lend equipment to relief efforts. For more details or to make a donation, click the link above or call (800) 427-4626.

Additional information about donating or volunteer opportunities is available from 211 Missouri, which can be reached by dialing 211, or (800) 427-4626. This information is also available at the 211 Missouri Web site.

Click here to donate to long term recovery efforts in Missouri. Often it takes a long time, months and even years, for communities and individuals to recover from a disaster. Your donation can make a difference.

Thank you, and please keep the people of Joplin in your prayers

Here locally in Tulsa, donations are being collected at:

Catoosa Police Department
208 S. Cherokee St.
Catoosa, OK 74015
8:00 am til 5:00 pm (or when trailer is full)

Owasso Keller Williams Realty
12150 E 96th St N
Owasso, OK 74055
donations will be transferred Tuesday morning.

I know this post is well out of the ordinary but I felt like considering the scale of local tragedy caused by the Tornado, I wanted to get the word out somehow.  I promise to return to normal posts shortly.

Edit: 5/24/2011

I am leaving this post as the top post for another day.  Above is an image that photographer Aaron Fuhrman took of the main area of devastation in Joplin.  The above image is pulled from google streetview to contrast the total devastation below.  You can see other pictures of Joplin on his flikr photostream.

I realize it is unusual for a gaming blog to be posting this kind of stuff, but like I said in the above post, this one really hits close to home.  Honestly it might hit closer than that.  Right now we are glued to the television as another supercell is heading our way.  The storm has already produced 3 tornados and appears to be on target to hit our town.  Here is hoping it skips over us like it has so many times in the past.

I want to personally thank everyone who has donated already.  I noticed there were several click-throughs to the Red cross link in the post above.  There has been a massive out pouring local.  I ended up taking a load of stuff to the Keller Williams drop point and was just taken aback by the volume of donations.  As I drove across town today I saw either the Tulsa or Jenks firefighters collecting donations as well.

Anyways thanks for understanding as I give this cause a little bit more screentime.

3 thoughts on “Bel Gets Real: Finger of God (Updated)”

  1. 85% are said to be destroyed, but actually this means the entire town basically got wiped out. I almost could not believe it and I am very sad for the victims of this disaster. I hope no retard comes along and talks about a “rapture”.

    • I dropped of a load at Keller Williams and they had a ton of stuff. Gotta love Oklahoma, folks always give to their neighbors. The real challenge will be in months when this is no longer big news.

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