Flood at high tide

The other day's rain caused flooding of the Calo river and roused immediate concern among us residents living near the mouth of the river since the strong waves and a 1.3 meter high tide threatened to overwhelm the break waters. At its height at 5:30 in the afternoon, you can imagine the residents anxiously watching with hope that the threat would subside and as the waters receded breathing became easier. At that time, the message of Pastor Rainer Cornista echoed in my mind when he related the recent tragedy at the ULTRA where 73 dreams were stampeded to death when the barriers could not withstand the flood of hopeful people. The question poised by Pastor Rainer was, "To whom or what do we pin our hopes on"? In these current times of problem-solving the question rubs salt on our inner self as we strive to survive as a person, on-going concern, and nation.

I commented to my seatmate, Francel Martinez, that the numbers of indigents and snatcher along Gov. M. Perdices St. noticeably have increased. The walk along the sidewalk is either a trip of generosity or indifference. Relating to my friend the mauling of a snatcher caught in his failed getaway by a mob, elicited the remark that people are animals too and there is a dangerous cannibalistic streak inside man that gives rise to the mob action. Indeed, when the barriers of ULTRA gave way, man became animals that devoured the women, elderly and children. The point is furthered illustrated in yesterday's dailies informing us that fake DOJ personnel are preying on the stampede victims with regards to spurious claims. We cease to be people when we think only of ourselves. When the flood of personal problems overwhelms us, thinking of others may be a very difficult thing to do, but it is one right thing to do. When we are able to do that, we become part of the solution and not contribute toward the aggravation of the problem.

The subsequent walk along the riverbank and seashore revealed the debris of the flood. The work of cleanup was daunting yet became interesting when the coconut shells, wooden branches and leaves were viewed as substrate materials for compost. On the other side of the flood is a gift. In a tragedy, as we mourn we can always look forward to the blessing as the sun rises each day.

Let us end with a story of a big flood. It had been raining for days and days, and a terrible flood had come over the land. The waters rose so high that one man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house. As the waters rose higher and higher, a man in a rowboat appeared, and told him to get in. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the man in the rowboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him. The waters rose higher and higher, and suddenly a speedboat appeared. "Climb in!" shouted a man in the boat. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the man in the speedboat went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him. The waters continued to rise. A helicopter appeared and over the loudspeaker, the pilot announced he would lower a rope to the man on the roof. "No," replied the man on the roof. "I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me." So the helicopter went away.

The man on the roof prayed for God to save him. The waters rose higher and higher, and eventually they rose so high that the man on the roof was washed away, and alas, the poor man drowned. Upon arriving in heaven, the man marched straight over to God. "Heavenly Father," he said, "I had faith in you, I prayed to you to save me, and yet you did nothing. Why?" God gave him a puzzled look, and replied "I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"*