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It has been a Long Hot Summer!!!

It has been a period of the hottest days I can recall. It has been a Long Hot Summer and for many us in the Caribbean, it continues in spite of the hurricane season. This season has been good to us so far. As I write this article, I am looking at television and observing the effects of Isabel on the USA and I can only pray that we in the Caribbean would not be subjected to such situations during the remainder of this current season.

The Hurricane Season is always a time of uneasiness for the residents in those countries that are in the hurricane belt. In recent times, most hurricanes head for the USA and normally hit the residents of the areas in their paths very hard. Apart from hurricanes, forest fires are always on hand to keep the fire fighters busy. Recently, it has been tornados. America is always under threat, many times, much more than threats.

Hurricane is an act of God. While mankind has done his bit and we can now track the storm and fly into the eye of the hurricane to tell its speed and intensity, we just cannot stop it, not even to put it off course. Isabel demanded that the government pay attention to her potential for serious damage, as a result, government offices in Washington were closed Thursday, causing a substantial loss of revenue.

The threat of terrorists as though not enough to keep residents of the USA in a state of alert, the hurricane passed their way leaving behind substantial damage and loss of revenue in many businesses. I pray that the Caribbean be spared this year with all that is going on around us, many governments experiencing negative growth rates, some almost insolvent, this is not a time for God not to act in our best interest. Our best interest is for us to be kept safe and that all perils be removed from our path.

I do not know what is happening, I just can’t find an explanation for the many negative things that are taking place around us. Is it the hot, hot, hot weather? It can be considered a heat wave some days. Is this atmosphere creating restlessness that drive people to do terrible things? We all are aware of the circumstances that bring about climate change, my simple position is that too much is happening, where there were open spaces, there are now high risers, when a motor vehicle passed every 10 minutes or so, now we have traffic jams. When only people who could have afforded vehicles drove them, today what do we find? Some means of transportation is a necessary, so everyone needs a vehicle. Then there is the problem of over population in major urban centres with levels in some cases almost unmanageable?

Because of the state of national economies in many parts of the world, a blind eye has been turned on most laws and in many cases people who can otherwise do better are taking advantage of others. Have you ever driven behind a diesel truck, van or jeep that is smoking like an old chimney? It is bad when cars are letting off smoke and accompanying fumes but it is worse when trucks and other large vehicles emit such fumes.We are working our way to making our beautiful world a living hell. I am not an environmentalist but I am convinced that mankind has to do some better house keeping, we must take care of our surroundings and be mindful how we dispose of the garbage, that it does not come back to make us ashamed and in some cases bring us diseases. The old sayings made sense and kept us on the straight and narrow path of consideration for others who share the same space. The simple verses we were taught to keep repeating like a mantra as children, continue to work for us through our adult lives. Here is one “cleanliness is next to godliness”. A fundamental point is that we did things for ourselves; today, everything is being done for us. The luxuries of modern society though desirable are hurting us. Involvement brings home reality. When you are involved in doing something positive, you see beyond the immediate and see the impact your actions will have on the future. You may wish to call that type of reasoning, viewing the big picture. A simple result is that you become a model person for others to follow. Pick up the trash behind you.

One of the reasons given for the drying up of our water resource is deforestation. How many homeowners plant tress on their land? Instead, we cut everything down and replace fruit trees with lawn – we create open spaces where the sun reaches down to the earth and those who dwell thereon experience a living hell.

At the rate we are moving ahead, without a care in the world, we will not only experience a long hot summer but very soon, we will be living in perpetual hell.