Joplin lost several apartment buildings in the 2011 tornado. These, located beside the Conoco on Connecticut Avenue, were a complete loss. In Out of the Wind, this is where the supporting character of Charles lived. Charles parades with many others through the underpass to meet Hailey Kelly's dad in the church parking lot. |
“I was getting gas at the Conoco,” he says, “when somebody ran out and told everybody to get inside. I left my car there and ran next door to the apartment. I got inside right before it hit. Brother, I never seen nothing like it.” He stares at my dad, and I see fear welling up in his eyes, about to burst out at any moment. “I got nothin’,” he says. “I got nothin’!”
“Now that’s not true,” Dad tells him. He puts both hands on Charles’s shoulders. “You’re family’s OK. You’ve got everything. It’s just all in front of you now.”