I'm very, very sick

As I write this, I am not feeling well. I get sick every six months or so and that is the case right now.

My head is pounding, and I don't want anything to eat. How is it possible to feel so cold but still be sweating? I guess anything is possible in the mysterious universe of our bodies.

My big concern is that when I get sick, I have a tendency to whine. So, my goal for this posting is to not come across as a whiner. Therefore, I need to focus on topics that put life into perspective.

But, where to begin? An obvious place is Japan. If there is one situation that should make us feel humble, it is what is happening in Japan. As of now, the official death toll is more than 10,000, but it is expected to climb to between 25,000 and 30,000.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear radiation have dominated the lives of the Japanese. I keep trying to put this into some kind of perspective as it relates to Tennessee, but I have not been successful.

I know the flood that hit Nashville last May was bad, but imagine if that flood had been accompanied by an earthquake that caused toxic radiation of some sort to be released. Perhaps that analogy comes close, but I am not sure.

Experts now believe the tsunami wave was likely as high as 77 feet tall. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to see a wall of water that big engulf the land. The bottom line is the people of northern Japan have a lot of work ahead of them, and we should all be looking for ways to help them.

There are no simple solutions for the hardships they are enduring.

The military action in Libya is also dominating a large portion of the international landscape, but I must confess that I have mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, I have no compassion for Muammar Gaddafi, and the sooner he is driven from power the better. He has had it too good for too long.

Gaddafi has promised a long battle and to hold out to the bitter end. Of course, what he forgot to say is that he will be doing this hiding in one of his palaces, kneeling under his desk. His idea of fighting to the bitter end is for others to die on his behalf. My guess is that he will agree to go into exile in another country if the going gets too tough.

However, what guarantees do we have that the rebels fighting Gaddafi in Libya will be any better than him? They have offered no concrete guarantees that they are interested in democracy. Could we replacing one poison with another? Maybe.

Also, I have not heard the term "war" used a lot to describe America's effort in this action. I have heard it described more as a "humanitarian" effort to help the people of Libya.

This may be so, but why didn't we intervene in all the misery going on in Sudan in recent years? If ever there was a place that needed humanitarian help along these lines, it was Sudan. Maybe that country did not have a crazy dictator that everybody could rally around to dislike.

I could go on and on when it comes to world events that should sharpen our perspective.

There will always be troubles in the world, and every once in a while, they will come our way. As the old saying goes, there is a season for everything (both good and bad).

If nothing else, I am not feeling quite so sick any more.