The Dike

ATOP THE STONEWALL

Wow, my head is so clear today!  What with six hours of sleep... (that's an accomplishment for me!  Gold Medal, anybody!!?)   

This past days has been all wet wet wet wet!  What with the unceremonious arrival of our buddies, Milenyo and Paeng!  As always when there is a storm, we at CFM get the creeps. 

Two years ago, people had been sleeping soundly while the 12okmph winds blow their roofs away and floodwaters steal their lands bit by bit and even took the lives of their neighbors.  People woke up and when they put their foot on the floor, the water (or rather the mud) was knee-deep, to their surprise.  They were so shocked to see mudfishes wriggling in their floody-muddy bedroom floor, and so they haven't had the presence of mind to save some of their things.  Televisions sitting atop chest of drawers toppled down to the floor because the drawers floated and many other damages.  Thankfully, all I Iost were my 10k wedding dress (hahaha), my journals and my letters... I said, thankfully, well, I mean it paradoxically.... haha... truth is I mourned for my stories lost forever.

THE CULPRIT:  Beside my house (well, not really mine) is a river that runs wild especially during typhoon season and when it does, it brings all sorts of trash and debris into the property not to mention murky floodwaters that can go as high as the windows of the houses inside the compound and bring destruction to everything it touches inside.  To help the situation, the government built a more or less 12-foot stonewall parallel to the river to keep the waters to its side of the river.  Today I just came from that stonewall.  It is so nice a place to relax the mind by watching the nature around.  The welcome change of weather from heavy rains to a sunny day has encouraged my resolve to go out of doors more often.  So anyway, I climb up the stonewall and spread my eyes over the creation yonder.  The change of color as the sun slowly hides behind the mountains is a pretty picture.  The rolling hills far in the distance turn from green to a deeper shade of the same, then to a darker hue of blue as the sun sets in the far horizon.  I fell in love with the clouds in their silly cotton whites yet as the light wanes, the clouds turn into a tinge of pink to a deep scarlet then later on to a shade of purple and then finally to grey as the rays of the sun fades and the darkness sets in.  I also love listening to the gurgling waters as it tries to outflow and outrun itself.  I love thinking with all these transformation of nature's beauty going on around me...

But really, I was not thinking... Well, I was... but mostly, what one could do (which I did) atop that stonewall is to give out an endless sigh of wonder and awe at the picture perfect beauty that is laid before his/her eyes... God's art.  Ah, Lord God, HOW GREAT THOU ART…