Watch stray rat surf typhoon in Philippines and inspire entire nation: “Rats can cause diseases that make people’s lungs to bleed but we didn’t hurt it because we thought it was especially gifted!”

Uniter.

I feel we, as a group, regularly forget the restorative, spiritually soothing, uniting power of our surfing. We, all caught up with our nihilism and quit-lit, not remembering that wetsuits can be suits of armor. That wave riding unites us all.

And so we, as a group, are expressly thankful, today, to the Filipino sewer rat who taught us we are all one. Oh, not only humans but all living creatures, even ones that cause diseases that make human lungs bleed, and what better lesson can we learn, especially in this Covid-19-era?

But let us not tarry. Let us fly directly to Manila, which I loved as a child because it sounds like “vanilla.”

For it was in Manila, hammered by Typhoon Vamco, with flooded streets etc. that a sewer rat hopped on a piece of wood and began to surf.

Yamzon Santos, there on the street, declared, “He’s a survivor. He looks so cold and he’s shivering but he’s very smart.”

Thinking more about what was being witnessed, Santos continued, “Rats can cause diseases such as leptospirosis but we didn’t hurt it because we thought it was especially gifted. Who am I to do something bad to the rat? That poor little creature only wanted to survive. It made me realised that every living creature wants to be saved in a natural calamity.”

Leptospirosis, again, is a disease that makes human lungs bleed.

But the surfing rat is bigger than that. Bigger than Covid-19 or any such trouble. Surfing is a uniter, a shining path.

God bless the surfing rat.

Also, I put “Shining Path” near the very top of the list of names for revolutionary Marxist groups of all time. Where do you put it?