Typhoon Morakot

The 2nd demo meeting of La Mode Toastmasters Club has to be postponed till next Friday evening due to Typhoon Morakot. Thanks God, Typhoon Morakot comes in time to enfold all of Taiwan in intense rain and sturdy winds this long weekend to end recent fears of deficiency and water rationing of Taiwanese water reserves.

Since childhood, I like typhoon holidays. Out of the blue, one or two extra days are granted to enjoy with family and friends unexpectedly. Today no exception, we had a buffet lunch at Pizza Hut in the neighborhood, enjoying the holiday meal with the weekday price. My husband and my brother went home immediately after lunch, I hung around at the Hut for the whole afternoon, reading "So That Others May Live--Caroline Hebard & Her search-and-rescue dogs".

Caroline's stories about her search-and-rescue work with her faithful canine companions touched upon my heart. I was amazed at her drive to train her dogs, herself, and others to assist in the location of lost persons and disaster victims as a volunteer. Her spirit inspired me and her multilingual talent impressed me. At 5PM, I put on my raincoat to walk home. The winds blew in the streets, on contrary to the boisterous restaurant, pedestrians were out of sight.

Surfing the internet to follow the course of typhoon is another hobby of mine on typhoon holidays. I can never feel more connected to the world when I watch the most recent uploaded videoclips on YouTube about the same tropical cyclone on its course from the Philippines to Taiwan.

It is my hope that with an extra week gain, there will be more toastmasters and guests to the 2nd demo meeting. In the meantime, I have a long weekend to work on my prepared speech about "A Decade after 921 Earthquake" to express my gratitude to 43 rescue units, totaling 728 workers and 103 rescue dogs from 21 countries to the rescue work.

Am I too old to train a German Shepherd and/or myself to form a volunteer team of Sherry Li and Her Search-and-Rescue Dogs? I don't even know how to use a compass in the wilderness! But I can learn, and I learn fast. I shall remember the day of Typhoon Marakot with the interesing numbers of 2009/08/07 that I'm committed to search-and-rescue in whatever way I can in the future.