On May 4, 2007, a massive tornado destroyed the western Kansas town of Greensburg, Kansas.
The day after that, I made a note in my journal: "News today: A tornado completely destroyed the town of Greensburg, Kansas, last night around 9 pm. The path was 3/4 mile wide !! "
On March 22, 2011, nearly four years after the tornado, it was another windy day on the Kansas plains. Tumbleweeds rolled across Kansas Highway 54. By the time we stopped at Greensburg I had already experienced two close calls with losing my hat. Our Kansas road map had blown out of the car at a rest stop; it sailed into the air, heading in the general direction of Wichita. But this was only straight line wind.
The Greensburg tornado had been big news in the Midwest, so we wanted to make a stop to fill up with gas. It was the least we could do to pay our respects to the people who had rebuilt.
This is what we saw: Little or nothing left of the older structures. Maybe a bare concrete slab here and there, but that was about all. The buildings were new. The trees told the story, though. A few--not many--main trunks and branches--the parts that survived the tornado--remained. Four years of delicate new growth stood out in a feathery pattern. The green leaves had not yet appeared; it was yet too early in the spring.
Kinda makes me think about rebuilding after a disaster. What is it about home and about land?
Those are interesting looking trees! I wonder if it's the same people who live there as before, or if many of them moved away after they lost their homes. I bet it's kind of cool to see all of the new growth.
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