Stand by Me : Janaway Publishing, Inc. : 9781596413320 : 1596413328 : 28 Jun 2014 : At 5:41 p.m. on Sunday, May 22, 2011, a catastrophic EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri. When the tornado lifted minutes later, 160 persons were dead, 1,150 were injured, and the area had sustained approximately $2.8 billion in damages. The author of this work, Mrs. Ollie (Brooks) Kirby, born in Fairdealing, Missouri, had followed the progression of the storm from her home in Santa Maria, California, and was in constant contact with friends and relatives, checking on their well-being and needs. Within a short time after the tornado struck, the author visited the area and, after seeing the survivors' attitudes and the astonishing and unselfish response from neighbors and volunteers to those in desperate need, decided the individual and group efforts to help in this tragedy should be documented. "Stand by Me" was written as a tribute to people in the central part of the United States (the "Heartland"), w