Thought 21JUL2008

CAPITALIZING ON CATASTROPHE
Columnist Pete Hamill reported on a turbulent situation that required adapting to change. He described a region in Puerto Rico where people with limited means live in houses made of wood. Periodically a hurricane invades, creating waves that destroy the houses. As the waters recede the dismantled wooden homes are carried out to sea. the homeless people wait for the stormy waters to subside and for the wood to float back to shore. The people then begin rebuilding their community. Homes are redesigned in different styles and configurations using the same wood.
These Puerto Rican people display the enviable ability to use their talents and creativity to capitalize on a natural catastrophe.
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

No one tests the depth of a river with both feet - Ashanti of Ghana