There And Back Again: A Joplin Tale by Lauren Elizabeth (Part 1)

Eh? Eh? See what I did there? (Random LoTR references FTW!!!!)

Cast, crew, and friends of "The Importance of Being Ernest", just before heading off on our trip to Joplin
(Not pictured: Julie, actress and BFF; Robert, techie, musician, and irritatingly awesome "younger brother")

It's been two weeks since we got home from Joplin. I use the term "home" loosely here, though not very loosely. Texas is still home, as is my house, my messy little bedroom. Still home. But I've come to think of Joplin as home, too. That little church we stayed in, cleaning, organizing, distributing...

Hanging with my JOY friends (my other family), worshipping, praying, laughing over stupid pictures and stupider jokes, playing Apples to Apples, laughing till we're crying over this:

I'm still not entirely sure why that kid found it so funny, but he laughed so hard that we ended up laughing at him, and there are some pretty weird laughs in the JOY family.

Well, day one: Leaving for Joplin.

We met quite early in the morning in the WalMart parking lot. In the city where JOY is based, there is only one WalMart. It's a very small town. I love it. :)



Maddie, actress, loading up one of the trucks with props and costumes





It was one of those days where, not only was I quite exhausted, but my brain was going absolutely haywire with excitement. And, me being me, and me being absent-minded, I walked out of the door with neither my costume nor my medical release slip. Imagine my embarrassment! I'll admit I cried a bit. I felt absolutely mortified.



Rebecca, actress, getting ready to film the goings on with the all-powerful iPhone

Fortunately for me, not only would my dad be able to fax the medical release slip and two of the actors' parents to bring up my costume later in the week, but my JOY family is incredibly forgiving. As I sat there, feeling bad about myself and feeling terrified that I either wouldn't be able to go, or would make everybody else's trip harder with my forgetfulness, Jameson, actor, role model and "big brother", assured me that I didn't have to be embarrassed; that it was a mistake anybody could have made, and that I just happened to be the one who made it this time. This made me feel much better, as I no longer felt that anyone was angry with me for being forgetful -- I've had some pretty bad experiences with people who got quite angry when I was forgetful. I know I shouldn't have been beating myself up that badly over it (the problem was easily fixed). So, I wiped my face off, lifted me chin, squared my shoulders, and determined to be happy on the trip. Sometimes I have to do that. When my self-esteem drops, I just have to choose to pick it back up again. Fortunately for me, between God, my real family, and JOY, I always have some help.



Anna, techie and real-life sister, smiling before the beautiful WalMart sunrise

We actually ended up sitting around a good bit of the time -- we were all really tired. You can imagine -- croaky, early-morning voiced, half-open eyes, aching legs, teenagers trying to find a way to comfortably sprawl themselves across cars and cement. Everyone was too tired to be at all camera-shy -- I loved it! However... I was too tired to be taking a lot of pictures, so...



Zach, techie and fellow fantasy nerd, and Wil, actor, tall guy, and fantastic weirdo loading up vans

 


Trailer for props -- thank you, Troop 116!

I didn't get a whole lot of pictures during the ride to Joplin -- I got a few, but whaddyaknow?! They didn't load onto my computer. Yay, technology!

I do wish I'd gotten a picture of Wesley, "brother", fellow movie dork, actor, and soon-to-be public schooler while he slept. He's a cute sleeper, in a really hilarious way.

There wasn't much talking during the ride, either. Wesley and his sister Jo napped in the back, me, Anna, and Maddie napped and listened to music in the middle, and our chaperons, Wesley's mom and Zach's mom, napped and drove (not at the same time) in the front.



First sign of damage we saw after reaching Joplin

Everyone had woken up by the time we reached Joplin. At first, we couldn't see any signs of damage at all. We gaped out our windows, half-eagerly, half-nervously craning our necks to see the wreckage. Eventually, we found it.

It was hard to look at.

But we looked at it anyway.

You're going to laugh at me, but for me, personally, seeing this, was the hardest part:




Yeah, I know. The closed, boarded-up Taco Bell is what really did me in emotionally? Yes, it did. Because it was something familiar, something I knew well, and there it was, empty, hollow, surrounded by broken homes. So what if I hate Taco Bell? The familiarity of it was absolutely overwhelming. It hurt to look at.

The worst part is that somebody lived there once.

After a while, we finally pulled up in front of what was formerly the Stained Glass Theater. Of course, what you're seeing is the now-famous Joplin Hospital, where so many people took refuge after the tornado destroyed their homes. It was like a breath of fresh air to look at it. Despite the damage the building took, it was such a relief to see a standing, working building in the midst of the surrounding wreckage. Especially considering what was once standing in front of it. (Look down.)

Yes, that little brown concrete slab was the Stained Glass Theater. The upper-stories have been completely flattened. We are standing in the auditorium -- where the audience used to sit. The pile of broken wood in front of us used to be the stage.




Some poor character is in need of a shoe

Gosh, this hurt to look at. I was standing there on the concrete slab, staring at the emptiness of it all, and I could almost see the way it used to look -- walls, a lovely ceiling, chandeliers, spot-lights, a tech booth. For a moment, I felt as though I was standing in the wreckage of our very own theater, the one we perform in that has become our second home, and wasn't able to breathe, or even cry. I just stood there in shock.

But then the group was moving off the upper story (yeah, you can just walk off of the upper story now, and hit grass) and I had to collect myself and follow. I was glad to get away from the nightmarish vision above, until we actually walked around to the lower story -- the basement. Backstage.




Holy friggin' cow. People were hiding back here. This used to be an empty space where an entire cast could take refuge from a tornado -- and while they hid, the tornado shoved all this down on them.

The stairwell where members of the cast and crew of "I Remember Mama", the last play put on by the Stained Glass Theater, cowered in fear, unable to reach the basement.

This chair intrigues me. I wonder what it was used for. Was it a prop for plays? Or was it just a place to rest their legs from the heavy costumes once the cast-members ducked backstage? It must be a strong chair, to have withstood the tornado.


Wil, Maddie, and Jo taking in the wreckage.

Cast and crew members of Stained Glass wrote notes on the theater doors. They made me cry.

Sorry you can't read this one... It says something like, "I am so thankful for this... The... is gone, but the family (?) is still here..." After that I can't make it out. I wasn't able to get close enough to it to get a really good shot, but what I can read is just too sweet. :)

Another one you can't read. Sorry, guys! :/

Standing around, trying to take it all in.

From left, top row: Jameson, Wil, Zeke, Wesley, Anna, Miss Eve (director), Morgan, Zach, Sarah, Me
From left, bottom row: Joseph, Jo, Wesley's mother, Zach's mother, Maddie, Rebecca
Still not pictured: Julie, Robert

Some quick photos in front of the theater. I'm glad I wasn't the only one having some trouble smiling.

After a while we piled back into our respective cars and kept driving. The passengers of our van got really excited when we saw this -- it's become a sort of symbol of joy to us. It was like a beacon -- when we saw it, our spirits immediately lifted a bit. Did you know that the high school is now officially recognized as "Hope High School" in the district? Pretty darn awesome.

We finally reached our church! Mt. Hope Church is just that -- a mountain of hope. I didn't see one frown when we stepped inside -- some tired smiles, sure, but no frowns. The people there are determined to keep happy.

The girls' dorm, or part of it, anyway. In this picture it looks a mess, but we were so tired and so ready to have something resembling home that within minutes each bed looked like something out of the girls' own hearts. Morgan's patchwork quilt, Anna's neat little pillow, my own pillowcase I inherited from my great-grandmother and a little stuffed lion that I got from church camp... It was already feeling like home.

Speaking of pieces of home, how about those yellow sunglasses? Or this fabulous yellow-and-zebra-print bracelet? The sunglasses I got at camp, the bracelet at a gas station on the way up. They immediately lifted my spirits. It's completely impossible for me to stay depressed when I see the color yellow.

And what about this inflatable McAlister's cup of sweet tea? McAlister's Deli is one of my favorite restaurants -- seeing it was like being back in Texas for a minute. I was so glad to see it, I couldn't resist giving it a hug. (Also, in case you're wondering, my traveling outfits were far from fancy! Today I wore a patterned, cute, but oh-so-comfortable t-shirt, my flip-flops, some easy khaki cargo pants and a gray knit sweater. My purse is huge, black, hand-me-down, and a perfect carry-on, and the blue thing on my ankle is a bandana. We all got them back in the WalMart parking lot.)

After I said a tearful goodbye to my inflatable friend, we all headed to The Orange Leaf, a frozen yogurt place which finished off the cup of happiness that had been so depleted by the wreckage, and so filled again by the sight of yellow, old friends, and sweet tea inflatables. I had wedding cake flavor with M&Ms and cookie dough. It was beautiful. (In the picture above: Maddie and Julie, who met us back at the church. Also, Morgan in the back, or rather, half of Morgan, giving the camera a very creepy look.)

Maddie and Robert (Julie's younger brother) who also met us at the church, having an intense discussion (not)

The beautiful Morgan (all of her)

Joanna met us at the Orange Leaf. She is a member of the Stained Glass Theater, and an absolute darling.

Here's Wesley, the Heath-Ledger-look-alike I keep telling you about, being... well, being Wesley.

And here's Wil being Wil...

... and Zeke being Zeke. Look at him rocking those shades!

There was a mirror on the wall...

And it was see-through! Here's what's behind it.

How amazing is that?!

Joanna and Wesley

Julie and Joanna. What beauties!

We did eventually have to leave and head back to the church. We were sad to say goodbye to our new friends (there were more than just Joanna, she was just the only one who wasn't camera-shy. Joanna is not camera-shy AT ALL. And this is a good thing) but we were so looking forward to sleeping. And sleep we did.

Until 6:00 AM the next morning, that is.

Not many pictures of that day. We spent the whole day working. There just wasn't time for picture-taking.

First, me, Sarah, Jameson, and Wil were the designated toilet-cleaners (I enthusiastically christened us "The PottyPals". It didn't catch on). We scrubbed, sprayed, swept, mopped, and danced. I know that last one doesn't fit, but Wil brought his all-powerful iPhone and turned on Skrillex and Owl City. There is very little in life that is funnier than watching two of your white homeschooler guy-friends pretend to try to dance. Sarah and I were in stitches.

And then, while we were cleaning, it started raining!

Rain, glorious rain! We hadn't seen it for weeks and weeks... Wil and I dashed outside with Maddie, Anna, Jo, and Julie, the window-washers (whom I had lovingly christened "The WindowWimps" -- that didn't catch on, either) to dance in it. It was divine! Jameson and Sarah, being the responsible ones, stayed inside, but believe me, they missed out.

When we were finished (and we finished early, despite our little detour into wetter waters), we headed to the distribution center, where the church members had stored and piled donations of clothing, diapers, shoes, food, toiletries, etc., for tornado victims who had lost possessions in the storm. We worked and worked and worked, trying to keep our energy up by singing worship songs and being in constant prayer. It worked! I stayed cheerful and excited the whole day.

I did manage to squeeze in a few pictures in the afternoon, before going out to organize boxes of more donations, but unfortunately this particular blog is too long already. I will continue it later. I hope you've enjoyed it so far!