The Passing of Rain

Pi = 3.14  /  Philippines = 413 dead

I've always hated the hype. Nothing ever delivers when something is overrated and talked about by everyone like it's the only thing worthy of attention. Every fad fades away eventually, it's just the manner of its departure that determines the magnitude of its impact.

Last week, we were told Hurricane Yoyong was the size of the whole Philippine Archipelago and that it was bound to wreak havoc defeating all the other previous typhoons that've come to pass. This prediction came from a famous university observatory. We were told to pray for the possible victims, which if I remember correctly, amounted to around 400+ people in the northern provinces. I had received text messages and invitations asking for volunteer work from friends. Pictures on the newspaper showed the catastrophic aftermath with the passing of rain.It had been a bad dream for many Filipinos and some were not able to wake up from it.

The thing is, the death toll was not caused by the hurricane per se. It was caused by the massive landslides and floods that came with heavy illegal logging in the mountains of the north. It was a logical consequence of having taken all the trees away and uprooting them to make houses and prized furniture. I could curse those people who keep destroying the environment, but while I speak, I sit on a wooden chair in a sturdy house made entirely of wood. These were built in 1954 though, way back when people weren't so avaricious, weren't driven to be destructive for the sake of a decent keep. Nonetheless, the point is, it is people and commercialism that's indirectly the cause of those deaths. 400+ people had to die so that a few families in the country (and maybe in other exported countries too) can enjoy their beautifully varnished and impeccably carved wooden chairs, tables and canopy beds.

I guess wooden furniture will always be a classic, regardless of the latest home interior trends. Familial grieving is a classic too, in that it often takes a lifetime before the trend of thought finally wears off.

It's the manner of departure that determines the magnitude of its impact.