Skip to main content

The lesser of two evils

The day had been sunny and warm. The thermometre in the schoolroom measured above 30 C, though I found it difficult to believe it was that warm. Some convincing thunder was beginning to rumble around suppertime, so to be on the safe side, though feeling slightly foolish as I passed some villagers, I wore rubber boots and brought my umbrella along with my flashlight as I went over to Friesens' for supper. Better safe than sorry--after all, it would certainly rain before I returned home and the boots would ensure that I wouldn't arrive home at Scotts' with 10 pounds of mud on each flipflop.

It did, in fact, rain off and on all evening. After a nice peaceful interlude, the deluge began again as we neared the end of our Triple Yahtzee game. I needed to get back before too late, so trusting in my preparations, I braved the rain.

The first surprise was the small river previously known as the path. The boots kept my feet dry, but a few steps in I realized my skirt was skimming the waves so I moved onto the grassy chain of hillocks along the edge. Then the lightning started to flash. To understand my concern, you need to know that there is a LOT of thunder and lightning during transition season, it is VERY close. I've been told being struck by lightning is not nearly as uncommon in parts of Africa as it is at home. So my question was, do I keep up the umbrella-with its 3-inch metal point sticking out the top-and run the risk of electrocution, or do I collapse it to be on the safe side and accept the certainty of getting soaked? I chose optimism and dryness. If worst came to worst, lightning strike would be a fairly spectacular way to die.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Living stones in the holy land

I met Jesus in Israel-Palestine a few years ago. I found him not in the rocky, desert ground he trod, nor in the ancient stones of the towns and cities he visited; not in the subterranean grotto in the Church of the Nativity, nor in the mammoth Church of the Holy Sepulchre, encompassing the traditional site of his death and resurrection. No, I met him in the lives of Palestinians who incarnate his spirit, in humble, passionate people who are convinced that love is the only way. I met Jesus in people who spoke like this: “We need to be soaked in the love of Christ. Love is not a hug and a kiss. Love is to seek the life of the other that the cost of one’s own.” --Labib Madanat, coordinator of the Palestinian and Israeli Bible Societies “Love is not an opportunity to overlook justice. Love is an opportunity to pursue justice…. [But] we want to resist any form of evil with the heart and mind of Jesus Christ.… There is no love without justice. And there is no true justice without lov...
2 comments
Read more

Stand up for Canadian Health Care (such as it is)

Canadian health care is far from perfect — it has never achieved all Tommy Douglas dreamed for it: from tip to toe (teeth are still missing, as are a lot of drugs) — but unleashing unfettered two-tier is the opposite of fixing it.  So I joined with the Canadian Medical Association in pleading for the Canadian government to grow a spine and stop unhinged Smith's attempt to violate our own rules within her province.  As someone on Bluesky observed, if Stephen Harper tried to do this, we'd be at the gate with pitchforks. Where is the outrage. Daddy Warbucks Carney’s latest just-barely satisfactory performance in trade negotiations should not blind us to his failure to prevent this from happening.  The letter to the health minister, CC my MP and the shadow ministers: The Canadian Medical Association says the Canadian government must stand up for Albertans and all Canadians to ensure Alberta's new legislation doesn’t create a new normal of health care haves and have-no...
Post a Comment
Read more

Deep breaths, just relax

I am immensely relieved to have my visa application in the mail...except I won't be free of trepidation until I have my passport back, visa approved. Sending my visa makes me realize it's actually going to happen -- sooner rather than later. Just one more day of work at the newspaper, 2 1/2 more shifts at the bookstore. Training the new guy today went well for me; I hope it went well for him as well! Thankfully, I have news that I will not be wandering around Douala by myself upon my arrival in Cameroon. (Okay, not that that was going to be the case, but it sounds more dramatic.) The original plan was that I'd meet Dan and Lisa at Charles de Gaulle and continue with them from there in on. Just the way I like it -- being "adventurous" within the safe parameters of responsible and experienced oversight. However, the U.S. government got in the way of those plans with delay after delay with Joshua's paperwork. To say I was worried about arriving in Douala all alo...
5 comments
Read more