Puny Man

"Man is puny compared to Mother Nature."                  Broughton. 'Way down yonder in New Orleans,' goes the song remembered by millions of music lovers. But alas, New Orleans is in the poo.  Not only is it under water, but 76-year-old Fats Domino is missing.  'I'm walking to New Orleans,' brings back memories of a southern city built in a swamp for no-good reason.  The French Quarter is a famous tourist attraction, as is the celebrated night life.  Today they're playing St Louis Blues non stop.  Hurricane Katrina has deal what is possibly a death blow for the much loved city.  The dam has burst and Mother Nature has reclaimed her swamp.  The inevitable was inevitable. Man has always pushed his luck and built his home between solid ground and essential waterways.  But to deliberately build below the water-level should be regarded as foolish.  A man-made levee will always collapse from lack of maintenance and logical thinking.  Mother Nature wagging her finger is more powerful than puny man.  She puts up with man's intrusions until she decides that enough is enough.  Then she reclaims her own with fiendish brutality.  She cares little for human transgression and sweeps all before her tempest.  For what is hers is not negotiable and she has always triumphed over man. If one studies history, it becomes obvious that many civilisations have been destroying by building in the wrong place.  Mother Nature's storms and earthquakes have killed millions and will continue to do so until man realises that he cannot control the Mother of all things bright and beautiful.  She allows us to live unmolested as long as we pay the respect she demands.  Ninety-nine percent of all species that have inhabited Planet Earth have been killed off by not adapting to her moods.  Perhaps man should understand that he his just another species and has a 99% chance of total obliteration. Man should plan for the future and build his home where physical retaliation is unlikely.  All he has to do is think ahead and anticipate Mother Nature's intentions.  Endless laws and money will not compensate for man's stupidity.  The innate greed of human nature is one thing, but the power of Mother Nature is another.  A wise general will refuse to lead his troops into a battle he instinctively knows he has no chance of winning.  He who turns and runs away, lives to fight another day.  It will not pay man to push his luck with Mother Nature.  If he ignores the lessons of history, there will be but one winner.  The odds are not good for puny man.