L
Lanceandrew
Guest
Disaster is not ordeal wherein one can always easily profile a point of light
and not appear to be insensitive and or not politically correct to the "whole"
and enormity of the event. I think as runners if caught in the circumstances
of what we've seen in the news...we would have an edge and advantage over
non-runners. I came across a story which kind of illustrated this thought I
had. Two women walking together down a road and warned to run. One mentioned
to be a distance runner, the other is not mentioned to be a runner. The runner
has survived, her companion that is not mentioned to be a runner is missing.
Not drawing any conclusions and I am sure among the 26,000+ killed some were
runners. However...having said that...and with no intention of being
insensitive to the disaster...I can't help but imagine that in this story
below...being a runner (physically & mentally) made the difference between life
& death for this woman.
________
By ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ
With a report from Tu Thanh Ha in Montreal
Tuesday, December 28, 2004 -
Still reeling from the aftershocks of his own tsunami nightmare, Vancouver
schoolteacher Michael Lang refused yesterday to leave what was once a Thai
tourist paradise and is now a scene of horror and devastation.
Mr. Lang, his girlfriend, Rubina Wong, and his sister, Christine, were among
hundreds of Canadians spending Christmas on Thai beaches. Yesterday, in the
wake of the natural disaster that has claimed more than 26,000 lives, he
continued to search for Ms. Wong. His 33-year-old sister survived the waves
that appear to have swept away Ms. Wong, 25, of Richmond, B.C.
Two Canadians were killed in Thailand and a third died on the southern tip of
Sri Lanka, the Foreign Affairs Department said. Two other Canadians are listed
as missing in Thailand, five are unaccounted for in Indonesia and 11 are
unaccounted for in the Maldives.
On Sunday, the day of the massive earthquake that led to the killer waves, Mr.
Lang decided to go scuba diving while his sister and girlfriend planned to
attend a spa.
"Michael is quite fit and strong, both in his upper and lower body," Michael's
father, William Lang, said in an interview from Vancouver where he is an
emergency-room physician.
"He recalls jumping over fences and running to a hill. He got high enough up
that the water never reached him."
Dr. Lang, who has spoken to his children several times by phone, said that his
son was at the scuba kiosk about to be outfitted with his gear when he saw the
water approaching.
It was far different for Ms. Lang and Ms. Wong.
Dr. Lang said that they were on the road walking to the beach spa when they
first heard people shouting and then saw people running toward them.
"Thai people were saying, 'Run! Run!' then they could see the water coming. It
was incredible and very, very frightening, especially the experience in the
water, which was really a near-death experience."
Ms. Lang, a long-distance runner, took off and when she looked to find Rubina,
Ms. Lang "was in the water, hit by metal roofing, debris, with her life
flashing by her and a determination she was going to fight," Dr. Lang said.
"A second wave came and seemed to clear the debris and she made her way to the
roof of a hut, and from there to a rooftop of a hotel and [was] rescued by a
naval vessel who took them to Phuket Island."
Dr. Lang said that his daughter was treated at a local hospital for cuts and
bruises and released. Yesterday, she travelled to Bangkok. As for his son:
"He's on Phuket still looking for his girlfriend. He's lost his partner and it
is so difficult. He's absolutely determined to search and find her, if
possible."
and not appear to be insensitive and or not politically correct to the "whole"
and enormity of the event. I think as runners if caught in the circumstances
of what we've seen in the news...we would have an edge and advantage over
non-runners. I came across a story which kind of illustrated this thought I
had. Two women walking together down a road and warned to run. One mentioned
to be a distance runner, the other is not mentioned to be a runner. The runner
has survived, her companion that is not mentioned to be a runner is missing.
Not drawing any conclusions and I am sure among the 26,000+ killed some were
runners. However...having said that...and with no intention of being
insensitive to the disaster...I can't help but imagine that in this story
below...being a runner (physically & mentally) made the difference between life
& death for this woman.
________
By ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ
With a report from Tu Thanh Ha in Montreal
Tuesday, December 28, 2004 -
Still reeling from the aftershocks of his own tsunami nightmare, Vancouver
schoolteacher Michael Lang refused yesterday to leave what was once a Thai
tourist paradise and is now a scene of horror and devastation.
Mr. Lang, his girlfriend, Rubina Wong, and his sister, Christine, were among
hundreds of Canadians spending Christmas on Thai beaches. Yesterday, in the
wake of the natural disaster that has claimed more than 26,000 lives, he
continued to search for Ms. Wong. His 33-year-old sister survived the waves
that appear to have swept away Ms. Wong, 25, of Richmond, B.C.
Two Canadians were killed in Thailand and a third died on the southern tip of
Sri Lanka, the Foreign Affairs Department said. Two other Canadians are listed
as missing in Thailand, five are unaccounted for in Indonesia and 11 are
unaccounted for in the Maldives.
On Sunday, the day of the massive earthquake that led to the killer waves, Mr.
Lang decided to go scuba diving while his sister and girlfriend planned to
attend a spa.
"Michael is quite fit and strong, both in his upper and lower body," Michael's
father, William Lang, said in an interview from Vancouver where he is an
emergency-room physician.
"He recalls jumping over fences and running to a hill. He got high enough up
that the water never reached him."
Dr. Lang, who has spoken to his children several times by phone, said that his
son was at the scuba kiosk about to be outfitted with his gear when he saw the
water approaching.
It was far different for Ms. Lang and Ms. Wong.
Dr. Lang said that they were on the road walking to the beach spa when they
first heard people shouting and then saw people running toward them.
"Thai people were saying, 'Run! Run!' then they could see the water coming. It
was incredible and very, very frightening, especially the experience in the
water, which was really a near-death experience."
Ms. Lang, a long-distance runner, took off and when she looked to find Rubina,
Ms. Lang "was in the water, hit by metal roofing, debris, with her life
flashing by her and a determination she was going to fight," Dr. Lang said.
"A second wave came and seemed to clear the debris and she made her way to the
roof of a hut, and from there to a rooftop of a hotel and [was] rescued by a
naval vessel who took them to Phuket Island."
Dr. Lang said that his daughter was treated at a local hospital for cuts and
bruises and released. Yesterday, she travelled to Bangkok. As for his son:
"He's on Phuket still looking for his girlfriend. He's lost his partner and it
is so difficult. He's absolutely determined to search and find her, if
possible."