Like the universal Yin-Yang, there is always a mixture of good and bad on this planet. Some day, I would love to see the news be 70% good news, and 30% bad news, and then slowly wipe bad news off of this planet. I am a firm believer that although something bad might be happening, there is always something good that can come out of it. It may take time to show itself, but it usually does.
In my lifetime I have witnessed two space shuttle launches end in the loss of life as astronauts flew towards the stars. In 1986 the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003. We have come so far with technology, and it's great there have been so few crashes, but history, good or bad, should never be forgotten. I am glad that fear never enters into the vocabulary of our courageous astronauts. There have now been unmanned missions to Mars, we've sent the Hubble telescope to the end of our known universe, and we now have the Space Station Mir.
September 11, 2001 an attack unlike any other was launched against the United States. Two hijacked jets slammed into the twin towers in New York. A third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth planeheaded for Washington, D.C. was valiantly overtaken by passengers, and a crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The aftermath broadcast was mind-numbing. It's been almost eight years, and the effects of that one day are still being felt by many people, globally. Security is at an all time high. I feel like sometimes you can't even sneeze without someone finding out about it. People come together at times like these, and it was amazing to see bands of "brothers" valiantly search for lost souls in the rubble, and cry on each others shoulders at times of such despair. "Brother"hood amongs our services workers is an undeniable power. To this day, the church next to the twin towers, stands firmly as a reminder of strength and resistance to those that try to oppress. A planet came together to mourn and support those who had lost a loved one. I attended a memorial in town, and it was beautiful.
In early Februaryof 2009, wildfires broke out in Australia the likes of which have never been seen before. Hundreds of human lives were lost, and I can only imagine what the death toll will be for the wildlife (those numbers haven't even been estimated yet). The most horrific part of this is that one human being is responsible for part of the wildfires. I hope that authorities catch the person, or persons, responsible, so that justice is properly served. Like the story that follows, I'm sure the same kind of reaction is taking place on the continent of Australia. One of rising out of the ashes.
In the city I'm from, Kamloops, BC, we also suffered a wildfire of epic proportions about 40 minutes from town. In 2003, a gentleman decided to put his cigarette out in a field as dry as hay. Of all the ironic things, he was an auxiliary firefighter, and was asked by his buddy if "he thought it was a good idea to do that" prior to dropping his cigarette. Thanks to this action, the small town of Louis Creek was destroyed, and had to be re-built by the ground up. A local mill was destroyed, taking with it, the jobs of many. Houses, family pets, and livelihoods were lost, and we were VERY fortunate that only a few lives of a rescue crew were lost when a helicopter went down, succumb by the thick walls of smoke. I was fortunate enough to have time to volunteer at our local animal shelter during this time, and again, the outpouring of support was nothing shy of breathtaking. Thousands of dollars were raised for care of people and animals. I even got myself an amazing little dog out of the whole ordeal. People showed up at the shelter with donations of food, blankets, money, and hours and hours of time. People opened up their homes to humans and animals alike. It was one of the most amazing volunteer experiences I have ever taken part in. I'm sure my tears fell in litres from sheer joy because of a town of 80,000 coming together for the sake of 3,000 plus pets and livestock. God Bless their hearts!
So, despite, having moments like this occur on my radar of time, I know in my heart of hearts that there is always a pearl to be found.........always!
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