Did They Say ‘Swerves’?

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Hand it to climatologists: back in 1999, when we interviewed literally dozens of them, from various countries, they virtually all predicted that, in coming decades, the weather would swerve: that there would be very enhanced wetness — even deluges — alternating with very dry conditions — severe drought.

Extremes.

As a news article said last week, “Scientists have long cautioned that warming temperatures would lead to wetter and drier global extremes — increasingly severe rainfall, more intense droughts. A new study shows where that may already be happening.”

One can call it “fake news,” but perhaps it is not. In California: years of searing, historic drought, followed this year by unprecedented snow (which is precipitation) and torrents of rain.

Our quibble with climate scientists?

At least some and possibly most of the swerves are due to natural forces from the sun and elsewhere. (And what about signs from God?)

Key word here: “swerves.” Signs of the times? Watch for extremes in any aspect of life on earth.

In the mail, we hear from Sara Koshofer, who says, “Every year on the anniversary of my sweet granddaughter Olivia‘s death (the day after her third birthday, in Cornwall, New York), my daughter and the whole family launch balloons into the sky with notes telling Olivia of our love. This is our 11th year of doing this. This is what the balloons did this year. Thought you might find it interesting and beautiful as we do!”

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Indeed.
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Also in the mailbag, from Margaret Johnson:
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“Regarding ‘coincidences,’ here is a lovely one from our family history.+

My Grandmother Josephine Carlin immigrated to the USA from County Cork, Ireland and was a nurse during WWI and attended soldiers in Cape May, New Jersey, many of whom were sick with the Spanish Flu. Her nursing pin was a very treasured item to her but unfortunately in the necessary scrubbing that took place every evening to keep the nurses healthy and uncontaminated, she lost her pin.+

“Many, many years later, a ‘tinker’ salesman came to her door selling goods, and in his box of items was her nursing pin! He returned it to her for free.+

“This same nursing pin came to me as an inheritance and I gave it to her Great Granddaughter Shannon when she graduated as a nurse and began working in New Jersey emergency rooms. +

“Glory be to God!”+

Definitely, glory.

And from Hawaii:

“Aloha,” writes Mary Konczyk. “I enjoyed your recent article that mentioned the Mauna Loa eruption. I live in Hawaii island, and it’s quite the spectacle.
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“One point though — you mention seeing Indian altars by the volcanos. These pagan offerings to the volcano goddess Pele are common here, but native Hawaiians are not Indians. They are Polynesians, which are ethnically quite different.
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“It is interesting to hear stories from people who truly believe they have actually seen or even met Pele. The typical story involves encountering a Hawaiian woman, often accompanied by a white dog, who asks for a favor such as a ride or a drink of water. After granting the favor, the woman disappears. One such person who gave ‘Pele’ a drink found that their home was spared during the 2018 lava flow when the stream of lava took a fortunate turn around it.
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History Of Pele Goddess of Fire and Volcanoes - Hawaii Ocean Jet
“A woman I talked to said when she was a child she served tea to a lady who stopped by her house and asked for a drink, and was astonished when her mother asked her why she had poured two cups of tea. Her mother, she realized, couldn’t see the lady who the child could see very clearly.
“I don’t know what to make of these stories. People seem very much in earnest about them, and maybe some people do see a spirit of the volcano. But the ancient human practice of … how to put it…inventing fiction? May be at play here too.
“Nobody reports being frightened or uneasy when this mysterious woman shows up. Oddly enough, considering the lava destroys homes and businesses, Pele is not considered to be a malevolent entity. Before modern times, homes that were destroyed were simply rebuilt elsewhere. Since the lava can be avoided by anyone capable of a brisk walking speed, there’s rarely any loss of life from the eruptions.
“I suppose that as a Catholic, I ought to consider these sightings to be lies or a demon, but I sometimes wonder if God has put other beings on this world that are neither demons nor angels, but simply have some job to do… like minding a volcano.”
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[resources: Michael Brown books]
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