On Sunday, the deadliest tornado in the past 60 years hit Joplin, Mo. — the place Rod Smith went to school, the city where his son was born and his daughter graduated high school.
It’s a community that Smith said embraced him and helped him grow up from the 18-year-old “young punk” that he arrived as.
So it’s with sadness in his voice that he talks about some of the destruction the city has experienced.
“The high school graduation was Sunday, and the high school got destroyed the same day,” Smith said. “The school is gone. It’s just crazy to think how fast somebody’s life can really change.”
He has tried to get as many updates as he can over the past few days, and just before talking on a quick visit to Dove Valley, he received some good news.
“I just got an update about seven people that were found in the rubble of Home Depot, which was destroyed, but the people were alive,” he said. “They’ve got dogs on the ground, they’ve got a ton of people on the ground just looking through the rubble.
“The sad part is there’s another tornado expected to hit that area tonight,” he continued. “So it’s really a tough deal because they haven’t even started cleanup because they’re waiting on this other storm to finish up.”
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