"Live Fats Die Yo Gnu"

Title is a quote borrowed from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Soul Music (ISBN 0-552-14029-5). On Sunday morning I woke up to the news of a tsunami warning. As with any other major events or natural disasters that have happened over the years, especially those that may directly influence me, this was quite something to take in. The estimated time of the arrival of the waves was about 10.30-11-ish in the morning. That passed and all seemed fine. That was a good relief. For then, you never know if there were going to be aftershocks. Either last year or the year before, we had a similar impending tsunami warning, reported by the media. Our Civil Defence department took a rather lacklustre attitude towards that potential disaster and was heavily criticized by the public, media, politicians, etc. Obviously everyone had a right to be angry about that - our lives could have been in danger. Luckily it turned out all right and wasn't too major a catastrophe. This time, Civil Defense seemed to be on the ball. Warnings were issued, the media did frequent coverage of the impending disaster. Even residents in some seaside communities were given phone calls or cellphone txt message warnings. Good on them - better show than last time. Then, later that evening, I found it both amusing and horrifying to learn at how so many people ignored the warnings and pretty much flocked to the beaches for a paddle and a sunbathe or go out on a boat ride. Like candles, humans live short but bright lives. As if often advised, we should "live for the moment". That's not really a bad bit of advice. If you're going to get killed by a tsunami, why not get in one last swim on an otherwise great day or at least be amongst the first to see the surge of water arriving in person? Why not indeed? I don't think it was ever implied that you had to live in the moment recklessly. I think I'd rather opt to forgo a nice day at the beach and live long enough to see many more. But that's just me. Yes, it turned out okay in the end, so all's well that ends well. But is that really a fine thing? What if it hadn't? I don't like to think too deeply about things like the meaning of life and whatnot (to be honest, it bores me to sleep), but this event was an interesting insight for me into what it is to be human. We're a stubborn species.