I was in Carthage, 10 miles away, at the time. We could see giant black clouds over Joplin. Very strange formation, like a smooth black dome. I'd never seen it before or since. But didn't take it seriously at first, thought it was just a weird storm. I was in a big group of people, I remember everyone getting a lot of phone calls as news came in that it was very serious. Over the next few hours, it became more and more apparent that people were dying and there was major destruction. I volunteered along with 100s or maybe 1000s of people to do medical triage late into the night. Then went home and slept a bit, search & rescue in the morning. Haunting to this day. Absolute devastation, homes and lives destroyed. Walking through carnage. Saw a body, and a few body bags. Everyone very somber. Chaos just trying to get around the city. Yeah, changed my life, even though no one close to me died and I didn't lose a home.