Apples in Stereo -- "Beautiful Machine Parts 1-2" (2007)

And you know nobody knows you better

Leave the light on in your room

One of my friends recently posted a video on YouTube that consisted of shots of post-tornado Joplin accompanied by the U2 song, "Where the Streets Have No Name."  Here's a link to that video.

For at least a day or two after the May 22 tornado, many of the streets of Joplin literally had no name.  That's because the street signs had all blown away.

The destruction in certain areas was so complete that even the people who lived there couldn't find their way home.  (I just thought of a song I could have used with this post.)  The visual landmarks had been so thoroughly obliterated that one block was impossible to distinguish from the next.  

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say.  One thing that the people in Joplin did after the tornado was to spray-paint street names on curbs and intersections:

Here's the intersection of 27th and Grand, facing north:

Many people -- or perhaps their insurers? -- have spray-painted their name, address, and their insurer's name on their houses:

The city has planted little street signs at many intersections.  Here's an example of a sign I saw at 20th and Delaware – the spelling leaves a little something to be desired, but it's close enough for government work:

Someone turned this abandoned love seat into a street sign.  (Speaking of spelling, I think it's "Moffett" – perhaps this person should have used a full-sized sofa, not a love seat.)

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I saw a lot of other signs as I walked the streets of Joplin last week.  Some of them -- like this "open house" sign -- were attempts at black humor:

This one's a little tricky.  Remember the NBC "Deal or No Deal" game show that was on the air a couple of years ago?  Remember the metal briefcases they used on that show?

But most of the signs I saw were serious.  Some were messages intended to reassure friends and families.

Here's another one:

And one more:

We'll stop here for now, but there will be more signs from post-tornado Joplin in the next 2 or 3 lines post.

Click here to listen to today's featured song, "Beautiful Machine Parts 1-2," by the Apples in Stereo.

Click on the link below to buy the song from Amazon: