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Guam recently saw its first typhoon in more than four years. Typhoon
Chata'an (sha-tahn) clobbered the island on July 5, with winds of about
100 miles per hour. The eye of the typhoon crossed the northern part of
the island. It was my first real typhoon. Being the first, I spent some time thinking about the event and its ramifications. And I made a remarkable discovery: Having a typhoon is like having a baby. --BABIES AND TYPHOONS ARE UNPREDICTABLE. Like a baby, you know a typhoon is coming, but you don't know when it's going to get here. And like some babies, some typhoons take you by surprise. Chata'an defied meteorological logic when it suddenly turned left. Even so, the meteorologists delivered it to us with deftness: they correctly predicted the winds and rainfall, and gave us enough time to prepare. --BABIES AND TYPHOONS HAVE A WAY OF REARRANGING ONE'S SCHEDULE: It doesn't matter what you're supposed to be doing when labor starts. When a baby comes, everything else is forgotten. The same is true with typhoons. In my planner, Friday July 5 was to be a very busy day, with three appointments at different points on the island. Chata'an graciously blew away those obligations. --LIKE LABOR, TYPHOONS ARE THE EASY PART: Every mother knows that labor is really the easiest part of motherhood. Getting children into the world is easier than keeping them in it. Although labor is painful, once it's over, it's over. What comes afterward--rearing a child and seeing him reach maturity--takes much longer.and can be more painful. Similarly, the typhoon is the easy part. The winds and the rain can be scary, but once the storm is gone, it's gone. The aftermath--cleaning up the debris, getting the utilities functioning, getting used to a new landscape, putting lives back together--takes much longer, and is often more painful. --BABIES AND TYPHOONS HUMBLE US: Although you can read about babies and baby care, it's not until you have a baby that you understand how little you know and how unprepared you really are. Likewise, you can read all about typhoons and typhoon preparation, but it's not until you experience one that you understand how little you know and how unprepared you really are. --BABIES AND TYPHOONS BRING UNEXPECTED BLESSINGS: Until you have a baby, you don't really appreciate a good night's sleep. And until you have a typhoon, you don't realize what a joy it is to have quiet electricity and running water. Overall, Typhoon Chata'an was a humbling, growing experience. But given a choice, I'd rather have a baby. |