In case you hadn't heard, we had a tornado in Joplin May 22, 2011.
It was the most horrific disaster to ever strike this city and it left a lasting impact even on those of us who were not directly affected.
The citizens of Joplin did not slink away and call it quits. Though some left, houses have been rebuilt, businesses reopened, and this city deservedly earned a reputation for its never-give-up attitude in the face of the worst destruction imaginable.
I am sure to some this will sound hypocritical coming from someone who has published three books on the Joplin Tornado, but enough already!
During my last year as a classroom teacher, that was the message I heard over and over from my students- Stop treating us like victims and let us live our lives.
Instead, a cottage industry has been created by some of our city and education leaders to keep the image of a battered Joplin alive and well in an effort to bring in more state and federal dollars.
As a case in point, you need look no further than the Joplin R-8 School District's Race to the Top application, which was short on facts, but loaded with mentions of the Joplin Tornado and, of course, the wonders that administrators accomplished to help the school district recover.
For city and school officials, it has been a constant refrain of "we don't want to rebuild Joplin the way it was; we want to make a bigger, better Joplin."
I am sure that what comes of this will be bigger. Better is something I have my doubts about.
There were things about Joplin that needed to change, no doubt about it, but I have not heard people talking about the new, shiny, and wonderful things that await us, changes that city and school taxpayers will still be paying for generations from now. What I have heard is talk about the things that will never be a part of this city's fabric again, smaller, more personal things that seem to have been forgotten by our leaders.
Obviously, the tornado is going to remain a part of this city's life for the foreseeable future, but please don't make Joplin residents into victims and try to play on people's sympathies to bring in more money, especially when the new Joplin you envision in your conference rooms and dream sessions, is a nightmare for the rest of us.