Nature Played A Cruel Joke

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was hit by the nation's worst flood on 1 June 1889. This devastation took the lives of more than 2000 Americans and left thousands more homeless and in a state of loss and shock. Once again, nature played a cruel joke on humanity.

Johnstown, with a growing population of about 30000 Germans and Welsh had an optimistic future with steel as its 'oil well'.

A small town founded in 1794, Johnstown was built upon humble beginnings with the construction of Pennsylvania Mainline Canal in 1834, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Cambria Iron Company in the 1850s. However, little known to many, the design of this town had a flaw. Johnstown was actually built on a flood plain, at the intersection of Little Conemaugh and Stony Creek rivers. As the river banks had been narrowed to create more land for new infrastructures, flooding due to heavy downpours became a familiar occurrence in the 1870s. In addition to this problem, Lake Conemaugh was situated 1607 meters above South Fork Dam. The dam was old and ill-maintained and even the townsfolk themselves recognized that it might give way any time. Unfortunately, no one took this seriously and thus, the dam was left to hold out for as long as it could.

In the cold late afternoon of 31 May 1889, a low rumble which became a loud thunderous roar over time was heard by some townsfolk. By that time, the suspicion of many that the heavy rains had brought down South Fork Dam became evident. The dam broke under the pressure of great waters from the rains and sent about 20 million tons of waters gushing down narrow valleys, carrying with it debris and sediments. Flood waters rose over 200 meters and gushed down the hill at great speed. Everything in its path was washed away or destroyed.

Panic, confusion and fear arose as people tried to escape from imminent death. Those who were swept up were thrown about in a torrent of murky and debris-filled water. The fortunate ones caught hold of pieces of debris and were kept buoyant; the less fortunate ones became victims of debris. The disaster took no more than 10 minutes. However, the trail of destruction that it left behind was indescribable and left Johnstown robbed of its sunshine.

Man When Are We Going To Stop

Man is the world's greatest friend and also its greatest enemy. Many scientists have pointed to man's excessive cutting down and burning of trees and fossils fuels as the primary contributor to global warming. Global warming is the increase in the earth's average temperature caused by the build up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases are the result of man's activities.

Although the earth has braved and survived Ice Age, droughts, hails, and other weather related disasters, it does not necessarily mean it is resistant to the effects of global warming. Man's complacency has put earth in a dangerous predicament: the increase in the amount of heat trapping gases is likely to warm the earth to a point whereby life cannot go on. Unless large scale measures are being implemented to curb the increase in the heat trapping gases in the atmosphere, man will soon witness the slow destruction of earth due to man's selfish nature.

Looking at the current rate of global warming, the consequences man has to face are likely to be dire. Climatic shifts resulting from global warming render densely populated coastal areas extremely vulnerable. This is especially so if they are situated in low-lying areas. Established scientific institutes have projected that floods occurring in these places will affect between 13 and 88 million people on a global basis annually from 2080s. If this projection were to come to pass, many developing countries and island nations will be the hardest hit as the cost of restoration works and re-housing the homeless will run into the millions.

The first people forced to evacuate to another region because of the threat of a great flood were residents of Tegua Island in the Pacific Ocean. The government of Tegua feared that the island;s eventual fate was permanent submergence due to rising waters attributed by climatic changes. A survey conducted recently showed that more than 2000 islanders all over the world fear facing a similar situation and are prepared to move at any costs.

Floods are just the first wave of consequences brought about by global warming. The immediate concern following a flood is the scarcity of clean drinking water and food. Starvation and the shortage of clean water are serious threats faced by the government and aid agency. This inability to adapt is not specific to man only. Plants and animals too may likely not survive the many changes taking place. All hope lies with mankind. Otherwise, these plants and animals will be eventually wiped out, leaving generation and the generations to come with a sad tomorrow.

I Saw Fire Burning At My Feet

Would you believe your eyes if you were to witness a man catch fire with no flame or spark source and then burning completely without causing damage to anything he comes into contact with? This scenario sounds utterly absurd but it has occurred in various contexts - homes, schools, offices and playgrounds and witnesses are more puzzled than horrified.

The question screaming to be answered is this: can man spontaneously burst into flames without being set alight by an external source? Scientists who studies this strange phenomenon have termed in the 'Spontaneous Human Combustion'. Spontaneous human combustion takes place when a person bursts into flames without an external heat source. This happens due to a chemical reaction within the human body. Although there is no concrete evidence to prove this phenomenon, many people believe that this occurrence is as real as the air that we breathe. However, most scientist are not convinced.

The first reported account of spontaneous human combustion came from France. In 1663, Thomas Bartholin, an anatomist, witnessed a woman in Paris who has for no apparent reason burst into flames and became charred in less than half an hour. Apparently, the woman was asleep when the burning took place. Many were dumbfounded by the fact that the straw mattress on which the woman lay was not damaged by the great fire which took place.

Besides spontaneous human combustion, there are no other convincing explanations behind these occurrences. Furthermore, many of the burnings took place in the presence of witnesses which rules out the possibility of murder. Scientists, in a bid to put down this theory, explain these occurrences using the 'wick effect'. This theory suggests that the body, when lit by a cigarette or putting out a heat source, acts like a candle. The only difference is that the body becomes the 'wick' of a candle.

Till today, the fact remains that no one has been able to ever conclusively prove the truth about spontaneous human combustion. Scientists today still disregard the theory and now, attribute it to the smoking habits of individuals. Many victims of the spontaneous human combustion were discovered to be smokers who have fallen asleep with a lit cigarette or cigar. And a great number of these people were believed to have consumed alcohol or have medical conditions that stopped them from attempting to put out the fire on their bodies.

From Book Review To Life Review

Jarry Fisher has recently been awarded The Pen Point's highest honor, 'Gold Point', for his eclectic picture book Outside In. I went straight to the 'New Arrivals' shelf in the library and settled on the nearest cushioned sofa, curious about the much talked about simple yet enchanting plot. Before I could open the book, the watercolor and ink illustrations captured five minutes of my attention. Award-worthy illustrator, James Jacobs, did Fisher's story justice. The clean ink over brushes of pastel watercolor brought out the liveliness of the characters and the peaceful surroundings of nature.

A young boy is pictured on the titled page coming out of a house. Then on the next two pages, the boy is picking flowers and plucking tall grasses from the field outside his house. As the pages turn, the boy is hard at work, transferring plants into pots and tying up the flowers with pretty red ribbons. After that, he goes to the edge of the woods and chases squirrels and birds. One by one he catches them with his bare hands and puts them in a big cage in his lawn. As soon as he is done, he gets a wheelbarrow from the backyard and wheels in the plants and little animals into the house. The last two pages of the book are the most delightful, with the boy holding his ailing grandmother's hands as she looks at the room with joy. The boy has decorated it with plants, flowers and all, and the room looks just like the field outside.

Fisher is a new grandfather and this book tells of his love for and relationship with his baby granddaughter. What Outside In does best is to show how young children understand what it means to make someone happy, in this case a grandmother. The love the young boy has for his ailing grandmother is encased in the simple act of bringing to her what she cannot have in her illness. A good picture book can say so much more than a novel. At one point, the young boy stops to rest on a stone after transferring the plants into pots. This, I feel, is the most touching part of the story. A tired child with little strength left continues work in the field for only one reason - to make his grandmother happy. Such is the love that even stubborn adults like me shed a tear or two.

Outside In is a book that is to be enjoyed by both the young and old, particularly grandparents and grandchildren. Family love and care shine through with Fisher's clever twist in his plot at the end and Jacobs' refreshing illustrations. This book is a definite must-read!

Writing Reading Reflecting

I have a mental block. What should I write next? I realize I need to get some proper writing resources. A pen and writing pad will do well. Without them, I find it very difficult to pen down my thoughts. Writing a letter home is more arduous than I think. Maybe I should take a break from writing and get back to it after a warm cup of coffee.

Putting away the piece of charcoal and onion pulp pressed paper, I walked to the window. The wind is howling outside and I am feeling all warm in my office. Things feel a little different when the weather changes. Although I am back at work, something just does not feel right. Perhaps it is because my mother has gone home, for a period called 'Eternity'. I miss her cooking and constant nagging for me to eat a good portion of vegetables and fruits. I wish I had spent more time with her. At least I could have learned how to boil a pot of potato soup.

Exciting times are ahead of me. My company is going to send me back to Singapore to oversee a business project. It looks like I will get to see my brothers, their wives and my nieces very soon. I am looking forward to it. At the same time, I feel sad having to leave London. Mother and I have spent more than half a decade here and even the grocery shop assistant has become like family.

The uniformed old man hands me a parcel, interrupting my train of thoughts, tips his hat and walks out of my office. He reminds me of my father, a short and stout man who walks with a shuffle. My father was a taxi driver. In my younger years, I hardly see him around. We had opposing time tables. My waking time was his sleeping time and the weekends boasted only of his presence in the bedroom. Taxi drivers could earn more in the nights on weekends and thus, my father slept in throughout the day on those days. Mother was often the only person who spoke more than ten lines to him in a week.

Tearing open the parcel, I find a velvet black with my name embossed on its cover. Who can it be from? Dozens of names flashed in my mind but I stop at none. I have no idea. At this point, opening the box perhaps will give me the best idea.

I lift the lid without much effort. There it is, catching light from all directions. My mother's favorite crystal pendant. It had been lost since World War II.