Nature's Fury

My father has always been solicitous for the health of my siblings and I. So much has he been concerned about our well-being that when we were growing up, he would worry that we could catch tetanus whenever we were injured by a blunt object. And when he found us reading at night with a torch, he would caution us that we could develop eye-sight complications.

One evening in the '90s, a dog bit me while I was taking milk to the home of a distant neighbour. When I informed my father about it, he feared I could catch rabies and suggested I be taken to hospital to be injected with a vaccine or something.

Perhaps my father's biggest worry has been the possibility of us contracting pneumonia if we got rained on. He has warned us again and again not to walk in the rain.

Despite my father's warnings, I have never feared catching pneumonia due to exposure to rain. I have come to reason it this way: If people swim for an hour and become healthier, what can walking in the rain for 45 minutes do to me?

So for the last four years since I took up walking as a hobby, I have been going for one-hour evening walks to my hometown of Kiserian, come rain or shine. And for sure, I have never contracted pneumonia even after walking in the rain without an umbrella on a number of evenings.

But about two weeks ago when I got thoroughly drenched during my evening walk, I felt a bit weak the following day. I got worried that the weakness could snowball into a major illness, perhaps the pneumonia my father has always warned us about. Fortunately, I felt better as the day wore on. Sooner than later, I was my usual happy self.

The worry, however, did force me to change my attitude towards rain. I resolved that the next time it rained in the evening, I would wait for the rain to subside before venturing outside for my cherished evening walk. And besides the worry of getting ill, I found it unwise of me to be the only person walking on the road when it's raining while other people took shelter in nearby buildings.

My resolution was tested last Saturday when we had a downpour here in Kiserian at around 4.00pm. The downpour was so intense that the roof of our mansion couldn't keep rainwater from leaking into the mansion. By the time the downpour had reduced to a drizzle, there was a puddle of water in our living room where my house-bound mother spends most of her days.

Because Januries are usually hot and dry here in Kiserian, I found it odd for it to rain that heavily on Saturday evening. This climate change issue is real for sure. Anyway, as someone wisely remarked, the best thing to do when it's raining is to let it rain.

After the downpour reduced in intensity, my father warned me that a certain stream near Kiserian Town could be overflowing with water. He therefore advised me to skip my evening walk for that day. But since I enjoy walking to Kiserian, especially after rains, I disregarded my father's advice and left home after I was sure it had stopped raining.

When I opened the gate of our home, I was met with noisy, moving water that had turned the road into a river. I thought of heading back to the house but on seeing a young man wade in the flowing water, I soldiered on with my walk to Kiserian.

Sure enough, the stream that my father had warned me about was overflowing with water. Its bursted banks had caused a huge traffic jam that stretched all the way to Kiserian Town. Even pedestrians were stranded. Those who couldn't tread on the flooded bridge had to wait for water levels to go down. Never one to waste time, I was among the few people who trudged across the flooded bridge.

As I strode past the endless and disorganized line of vehicles and motorbikes, I thought to myself that, much as people admire cars and wish to own one, it must have been miserable to be a motorist in such a massive traffic snarl-up. It really was miserable.

We never have floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and heat-waves here in Kiserian. But last Saturday, I witnessed first-hand what nature can do to us in its fury. Guys, rains can do a lot of damage and cause inconveniences. So, as my father has always advised us, let's be chary of walking in the rain. Ciao!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on nature's fury, you might also enjoy another one on "My Hometown of Kiserian" which I wrote last year but one. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.