Here we are, grumbling about the flood and the incessant rain! Subsequently, a whole lot of finger-pointing and mud-slinging evolved. Silting in the river, some said, was the cause! Poor drainage was also to blame. I say you have not done anything, you say I have not done anything and to date, I don’t think anybody has done anything!
And I wouldn’t think it’s any consolation either that Chap Goh Mei or the Lantern Festival is just a few days away and the King Tide that night is 6.1 m and 6.2 m consecutively for the next three days, compared to only 5.8 m, the highest around Chinese New Year time…and it still rains quite a lot these few days, don’t you think?
We have been getting a lot more rain than usual and one obvious cause, of course, is global warming which has led to drastic climatic changes and extreme weather conditions. I was watching BBC news yesterday morning and was appalled by the severe snowing that they are experiencing in the UK and other countries in Europe, including Spain which normally would be quite sunny…
Somebody who was interviewed on air commented that it was the worst he had seen in his lifetime and the newspapers said that it was the worst snowfall they had since 18 years ago. The funny thing is they just try to cope with it the best they can – none of those senseless childish squabbles that we find here in our midst. So while the arguments are dragging on day in and day out and whether they get to settle matters in court or not, I guess the rest of us will just have to fend for ourselves and get prepared for the possibility of another round of flood on Chap Goh Meh!
Incidentally, another thing of interest that I saw on the BBC news was the incident involving the visiting Chinese premier to the UK. He was addressing an audience at the Cambridge University (Cambridge, no less!!!) when somebody threw a shoe at him! Gee! It certainly looks as if that is the trend these days after somebody threw one at Bush the other time.
Who knows? When the state elections come around, we may get to see a lot of shoe-throwing right here as well, during the campaign speeches, for instance. Never mind! The candidates have ample time to practise ducking flying shoes…and looking at it on the bright side, the loser can always collect the shoes and venture into business after the election – selling shoes! ROTFLMAO!!!!
P.S.: Considering the fact that the world is experiencing extreme climatic conditions, there is every possibility that by sometime around the middle of the year, it will be extremely dry and scorchingly hot here and who knows, we may end up with a haze as bad as the one in 1997 – unless the authorities concerned have the foresight and initiative to start working on that now to ensure it will NOT happen! Really, it does not help one bit just talking about it and blaming one another when something has already happened. As the old adage goes, “Prevention is better than cure!”
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 