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Articles by Keyword - Natural disaster
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Columns: The Bullet of Nature
An event like a volcanic eruption is so momentous that it inevitably becomes a metaphor for other bad happenings in life. Ash does not shine brightly, but its presence nevertheless illuminates the vagaries of existence and, most certainly, the cataclysms of illness. For those who suffer from them, serious medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus, and vasculitis are volcanoes. In the suddenness with which they strike, these conditions are devastating. They cause uncertainty and pain and, in...
Columns: From Bimbo to Barajas Airport
At 9 p.m. on the Saturday night after the volcano erupted, we took our dinner break at a truck stop in Spain. The sandwiches were remarkably tasty. The Spanish are wizards with jamon and, for Americans used to washing down a roadside dinner with a Big Gulp, San Miquel on tap or a small bottle of Sangre De Toro was a great treat. There was even an espresso machine that our truck stop barrista used to make cappuccinos. All was not well, however, since the restaurant was filled with a thick cloud of cigarette...
Columns: No Trains, No Planes, No Automobiles
Arkansas … Saskatchewan … Nebraska … This progression of places formed an interlude in a game of geography used to pass the time during a 16-hour van drive from Nice, France, to Madrid, Spain. I took this ride with a group of rheumatologists and their spouses who were trying to escape Europe in the aftermath of the Iceland volcano. When Eyjafjallajokull spewed ash menacingly across the continent, I was happily attending a meeting on targeted therapies for rheumatic disease in a...
