Our memories are one of the most cherished substances. There has to be a little pocket of brain cells that connect to all other cells, and that little pocket holds our childhood and remembrances. And...

When I heard the Extreme Makeover Home Edition show would be conducting its series finale in Joplin, I could hardly contain my excitement. The home makeover show has been one of my favorites since I could...

When the air suddenly turns chilly, the wind picks up and the clouds start dancing in circles, Mother Nature is hinting that it could be time to duck and cover. The severity and danger of rotating winds...

Reports of more deadly tornadoes sweeping the  surrounding Columbia areas have constantly been on my mind. First Joplin, practically a remembered home for me, and now Branson, Mo., a place my family...

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the outdoors. I grew up in hillbilly-ville; what can I say? Our home sat on acres of farmland, and we had a '70s box television, which flipped through a whopping...

When people insure their homes, they don’t usually expect the worst situations when deciding what to cover and what not to cover. Some may expect a little wind or fire damage with a slight possibility...

The night the tornado hit Joplin is a night I will remember for a while. That night Columbia was having some unpleasant weather as well. With the thunder, lightning and rain, I was upset my parents wouldn’t...

I grew up in Neosho, Mo., a small town 20-minutes southeast of Joplin with no mall, one Wal-Mart and a small skating rink for entertainment. So, of course, a short trip up the road to Joplin was a common...

The devastation from the tornado that hit Joplin was almost more than I could take. I grew up there, and now I go back to see the town it is becoming.