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Out of the Wind: Releafing

1/31/2014

In the weeks following the 2011 Joplin tornado, the trees began to releaf. At times, Joplin looked more like a Dr. Seuss world. (Look carefully to spot yet another American flag.)

I've heard it said that it's not the wind, but the things inside the wind - the shrapnel. This photo illustrates the extent of the damage caused by shrapnel thrown by the Joplin 2011 tornado, even on the fringe of the "tornado zone".

Out of the Wind: Scars from the Tornado

1/28/2014

This tree, like many of the citizens of Joplin, Missouri, bears a survivor's scars. In Out of the Wind, I attempted to express those scars in the narration of the main characters. While some scars are physical, we find the real story lies in the spiritual lives and the emotions being felt by those figures and the people around them?

Out of the Wind: Insurance

1/27/2014

Several insurance companies sent armies of adjusters to Joplin following the 2011 tornado. This truck has been marked by one.

Out of the Wind: Office Chairs

1/26/2014

Not only did Joplin appear to be a landfill, with thousands of structures reduced to toothpicks, in the summer of 2011, but this photo shows so much more. Isn't it interesting that all of those office chairs have been collected into one location? That, most certainly, was not done by the random winds of an EF5 tornado! Click on the photo to enlarge it, and you may notice the American flags on the horizon.

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Author

D. Ed. Hoggatt is an award-winning fourth grade teacher.
He taught in Oklahoma City during the terrorist bombing of 1995, and in Joplin, Missouri, during the tornado and recovery of 2011.
His experiences at these locations are reflected in two of his middle-grade fiction books - Crumbling Spirit and Out of the Wind.

In There's No Busyness Like School Busyness, Hoggatt shares opinion, reflection, and vision to help teachers teachers improve their craft and thrive in the stressful world of education.

Mr. Hoggatt is a former newspaper editor.
In addition to teaching fourth graders, he currently enjoys preaching for churches of Christ when called to do so,
and visiting schools to make history and writing presentations.

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Out of the Wind: Releafing

Out of the Wind: Shrapnel

Out of the Wind: Scars from the Tornado

Out of the Wind: Insurance

Out of the Wind: Office Chairs

Author

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