Thursday, May 7, 2009

A Brother Abroad

When life is tough, I'll often try to put things in perspective by thinking of others who have it tougher. My thoughts often go to my brother and his family, as well as other friends and that usually helps.

Today, however, I found some people whose position may make even my brother feel happy about his current situation...on deployment in Iraq, far, far away from his wife and four children.

Those people would be the flood ravaged residents of Brazil:

CORIMATA DA CIMA, Brazil – The dirt road that runs in front of her house is a river. Her fields of rice and manioc lie ruined underwater. And with water seeping into her mud-brick, thatched-roof home, Maria do Remedio Santos knows it's time to join her neighbors.

Like 218,000 others across a swath of northern Brazil three times the size of Alaska, the neighbors have fled the worst rainfall and flooding in decades, braving newly formed rivers teeming with anacondas, alligators and legless reptiles known as "worm lizards" whose bite is excruciating.

They have made their way into shelters, some of which are already packed with people, pets and livestock with little food or medical supplies. Others stayed in stables. But Santos said Thursday there is no other choice for the nine people — relatives and neighbors — camped out in her shack.

I think, at least in this case, I'd prefer Iraq.

This is Day 101.

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