Tuesday, February 10, 2009

My turn to ramble!

So many things going on my head today!

I was talking to one of my colleagues this morning. We discussed how the world seems to be falling apart. You watch the news and very little of it is good.

After speaking to MIL last night, I heard that my sister-in-law and her family live about 30 miles from the devestating fires that have hit Victoria state in Australia. I never realised they were so close. She says they can see the pink reflection of the flames against the sky line - how scary is that? I heard one of the survivors interviewed on the radio this morning and he is devestated - a 12 year old boy that he played golf with on Saturday has died - kind of brought it home and made it more real - if that makes sense. Sometimes we see these things on television and although we feel for them, it's so far away and does not really affect us directly. We forget about it and carry on with our lives.

Imagine that someone is suspected of starting this tragedy? Prime Minister Kevn Rudd has said that any arsonists involved in this are guilty of "mass murder". I find it hard to believe that anyone would be so STUPID or so careless ... and yet they are!

My love and thoughts go out to all Australians at this time and pray that the devestation will come to an end soon.
UPDATE: I neglected to mention friends and family in Cape Town - they have also battled with fires over the past weeks. These have been the result of high temperatures and windy conditions. Local fire workers have been working around the clock to manage the situation. Fortunately the situation is not as critical as that in Australia.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we should also keep the people in Cape Town in mind as well. They have also had a terrible time with the fires there.

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

This is an absolutely horrible thing that is happening and if somebody is responsible I hope they catch him.

Anonymous said...

Yes. Jan. These fires and heat the past few days were no joke. We have suffered a bit.

Judith said...

Yes, I was watching it on the news and to think that most have been caused on purpose is hard to bear. We're suppose to be the intelligent race on the earth but you would wonder sometimes!! Trust all is well with you? Judith

Anonymous said...

The fires in Oz were dreadful. I was reading the Twitter stream and getting links to the stories and photos. Horrific!

Eleanor said...

Hey, Janet! Yes, I also heard about the fires in Aussieland on Classic FM at 6 am this morning. My heart also went out to them and I can't help thinking of all the wildlife that is destroyed. We are so blessed here in Gauteng this year with this fantastic rain. I know the rain storms are bad when you are driving in our notorious traffic but my garden is lush and green. You have a lovely smile!

Riley Kai said...

As a Christian, I often worry about everything going on in the world. The news here in the USA wants to focus on Obama, the war and celebrities. However, I have kept up with the fires thanks to the internet! We have been keeping you all in our prayers! (on a side note, thanks for the advice on Riley's schooling! I was wondering why they sold beanbags at the education store! Now I know and will have to use them! Thanks!)

Marjorie (Molly) Smith said...

It is so sad, we have terrible fires in our western states but never with this kind of loss of life.
My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes - gosh - they have been really really devastating. To lose so many lives and homes is absolutely horrific in a matter of minutes. My heart goes out to them all.