'love is never a burden'

the most tragic thing to come from the tropical storm that passed over the island was the amount of casualties incurred--six people have died from being swept out by the tide. one man was swept out as he walked on the reef by the hilton, and five workers for seawalker tours went under when their kayaks capsized in the hazardous surf.

i don't ever recall there being so many deaths during a typhoon, let alone a tropical storm before. i don't know what made this one so different (besides the amount of water), but you could definitely feel its malevolence. it tested guam's infrastructure and showed it to fail; it tested guam's people, and we did not.

i hate the writing in the pdn for the most part; i normally don't read it because it's painfully tabloidish. however, oyaol ngirairikl's cover story in today's paper is touching. i don't know if it's because i'm particularly upset by the tragedy that i'm overlooking the flaws, but i think the story's main strength is that it is mostly quotes taken verbatim from the family and friends who are searching for their loved ones. their strength is amazing, you can only hope that should you be in such a situation, you will be as strong.