BEND WITH THE WIND

In an allegorical story, "The Three Bamboos” by Robert Standish, a jeering oak tree chides the bamboo to acknowledge that the wind is his master. This the bamboo refuses to do stating that it is the nature of the bamboo to be supple and not rigid like the oak.

A great typhoon hits the village where the oak and the bamboo grow. Most of the villagers lash themselves to the sturdy oaks,but one family lashes themselves to the bamboos. When the storm is spent and dawn comes, the family which was lashed to the bamboos is safe and nothing but gaping holes remain where the oaks once stood.

The peoples of Asia have long ago learned how to "bend with the wind" and take the upheavals of nature — earthquakes, floods,typhoons,and tidal waves in their stride. Fires, too, are a constant hazard in the overcrowded cities.

Most Americans, less used to such things, find this attitude more difficult to accept. In spite of this, or perhaps because of this, we know we should be prepared for any and all emergencies.

At all posts throughout the world there are committees whose duty is to prepare plans which can be used to meet any and all emergency situations. These plans include arrangements necessary to provide for all on the spot and to provide for the movement of women and children if they have to be moved somewhere in a hurry.

Albums

• Bend With The Wind