Hot n' Cold

Summer came rushing to assault and oppress us. 

Grrrr. The sweltering heat is not very good for the health. I've had this lingering sore throat for the past few days. And so do my friends.

I probably get the same amount of sweat while typing as when I am walking early in the morning.  I don't think I am exaggerating when I say:  you sit down, do nothing, and you sweat;  you look to your left and right, cross the street, and you get sunburned; you walk a few meters, rest awhile, and you get a heatstroke; you stay under the sun for an hour and you get hyperthermia or melt.

One radio announcer spooked me this morning when he said, "This summer, the elderly are prone to have a stroke, sunstroke, or heatstroke." He meant well, he was advising seniors to stay under the shade and drink plenty of fluids. 

Which are what I am trying to do, but failing. I have too many errands these days to keep me under the sun, and too little time to drink plenty of fluids.

Then I saw these photos on JB's blog. Beautiful, cool shots that make me miss Adrian (and of course his parents, too) and the cold weather.

This tiny 4-year-old can ski better than his parents.
 

Brrr. In that freezing landscape, there is also the danger of suffering from frostbite.

Now I am going to state a prosaic (or profound, depending on how you look at it) statement: there are pros and cons to every situation on earth, where a concept exists because it has an opposite. Bright and dark. Tall and short. Beautiful and ugly. Hot and cold. Pro and con. Grrr and brrr.

The only places where there are no pros and cons are not of this planet: heaven and hell. In heaven, everything is good and grace. In hell, everything is bad and disgrace.

That's probably why the Hon. Senator Miriam Santiago said that hell is not a geographical place. Going there is unthinkable. So the Hon. Senator explains further, it is a metaphor, which means the absence of God. And if it were a place, there is no one there.

Here's what the Bible says. Hell is:

“A place of outer darkness where there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:51; 25:30)

“A place to be avoided even if it means losing the physical members of your body. (Matthew 18:8-9)

“A place where the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-48)

“A place of regret, torment in fire and no water.” (Luke 16:19-31)

I can't possibly win an argument over the Honorable Senator without sweating. Hell is a terrible geographical place.

And summer in geographical Philippines? Compared to hell, no sweat.