I think that Oklahomans are so good and so kind. The people here are one of the best things about living in this state. I grew up in Texas where people have a reputation for being friendly and helpful, but the people here in OK are every bit as friendly, kind, caring, loving and helpful as the Texans I grew up with, if not more so. People in both states are used to frequent disasters and always respond quickly to help in any way that they can.

With all the weather-related disasters here, we Okies know that we must rely on one another and we must help one another. No city...not LIttle Axe, Moore, Shawnee or anyplace else...can recover from these disasters alone. They need the efforts of all of us to help them. THANK YOU for volunteering and helping.

We have concerns, again, with severe weather this week. The only good thing about hot, dry summers is that once we are that hot and that dry, the threat of severe weather drops. It is a shame that the rain we need so desperately in spring and early summer always seems to be accompanied by at least the threat (and often the real thing) of high wind, hail, microbursts, tornadoes, etc.

I've never seen F-5 damage in person, only on TV and in photos, but have seen F-4 damage in person and it is horrific. It is easy for those of us not living in a damaged area to forget about it and to think that recovery happens quickly, but the reality is that recovery is a slow process and the rebuilding of neighborhoods takes years.

Lone Grove, in western Carter County, was hit by an F-4 tornado in February 2009. Even today, when you drive through the area hit by the tornado, you see lingering damage....for example, treeless swaths where trees once were, or badly damaged trees that haven't fully recovered from losing major limbs or essentially being topped by the tornado. For that first year or two after the tornado, you could see what I called its 'scar' in the swath of the town that was damaged. I can tell you one thing, a lot more tornado shelters were installed here in southcentral OK after the Lone Grove tornado, where 8 people lost their lives.

I didn't live in Lone Grove when the EF4 hit, but I lived there when the tornado hit Plainview and Ardmore just west of I-35 near the Uniroyal plant, doing lots of structural damage.

DH and I jumped into the truck and started for Ardmore. He called the Sheriff's office to find out where he was needed. They told him where they needed him and asked him if he could first drop me at Plainview School. My job that afternoon was to take the donations of food that were arriving at the school cafeteria, and make sure that all the residents and volunteers were getting food and water so they could keep working. I was amazed at the amount of food, water, and hygiene supplies that arrived on site. Soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, diapers, cases of bottled water, and prepared food from many local restaurants, chips, cookies, snacks of all kinds, etc.

I remember one lady very well. She was from Texas and was driving home down I-35 on her way home. She heard on the radio what was needed, so she made a detour into Ardmore, and bought supplies. The entire backseat of her car was loaded. It was in the floor and in the seat with just enough space for her to see behind her through her rear view mirror. She said she just wanted to help. Businesses arrived with loads of plywood and tarps. I was amazed at how fast it all came.

I think a lot of people will help when they know how to help. Okies are a tough lot, and we all know that it could just as easily be our neighborhood as the damaged one.

Joplin had lots of helpers from everywhere. The Red Cross truck drivers were from different states. People try to give you stuff you don't really need sometimes you take it for the feelings involved. We were cleaning up at my friend's house which was only damaged not destroyed. The Red Cross would give sandwiches, chips and fruit. We could have driven to get our own food but it did make it easier. More importantly was the caring feeling. My friend sent a donation to OK because people helped him. People came from all over the place to adopt the animals that never did find homes even injured ones and scruffy looking ones. Normally the local stray animals have a hard time getting adopted.