Human kindness is not lost when everything else is

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Tornado sirens are like a pacemaker I have no need for - my heart pounds, my hands start to shake, I get clammy. It’s not pretty.

The threat of bad weather lately has my nerves shot.

The thought of what happened in Joplin happening here - where people I love live, where I live, where I have a comfortable life that keeps me pretty happy most of the time - fuels that anxiety.

But my amazement at the human spirit trumps all that.

I am so moved by complete strangers unselfishly dropping everything to aid those in need.

I can’t imagine what the scene must be like only an hour north of us; like a war zone, they are saying.

NBC News’ Brian Williams, who has reported from actual war zones, reported Monday night from Joplin on The Weather Channel and spoke fondly of his memories there.

Even experienced weather reporters that chase storms as their livelihood, have seen deathand destruction probably hundreds of times, were choked up by the devastation of the city.

But what about a mother who lost her child, a daughter who lost her father, a child who lost his dog?

I imagine people wandering through rubble, picking up broken pieces of furniture, looking under fallen fridges for people and pieces of their lives lost.

I imagine people with no shoes, no change of clothes, no clean water to drink. I imagine fathers looting to protect their families.

In less than minutes, their worlds were literally turned upside down.

I spoke with college students who witnessed the damage first hand, who lost their belongings to the fury and were exposed to real tragedy for the first time in their young lives. One girl could only describe the scene as “flattened.”

As the death toll continues to rise after such a horrendous act of nature, I hope those affected can seek comfort in the kindness of strangers.

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Editor’s note: Cassi Lapp is the former news clerk/ staff writer of The Times of Northeast Benton County. A Colorado native, Lapp graduated from the University of Arkansas. She can be reached at [email protected].

Opinion, Pages 4 on 05/25/2011