Chasing Lepers through the Jungles

What was that book saying there is nothing new under the sun?

08 February 2023
Panama

Today I have been enjoying a nice book on leprosy. (Sarc)

During flight back to Panama from anti-Haitian border-wall in Dominican Republic, I pulled out the same book I was reading days before when landing on Hispaniola.

Somewhere over the Caribbean, a funny vignette leapt from the pages.

In March 1868, a crazy Hawaiian was screaming around about impending apocalypse. So crazy and emotional, he was riling up other Hawaiians and threatening violence. He was locked into an insane asylum.

And then…shortly after he was locked up…BOOM!

Just as the crazy man predicted, it happened. Massive earthquake and volcanic violence. Death and destruction. Maybe he wasn’t so crazy after all. A man ahead of his time often appears insane.

He was released.

Very interesting book.

As for leprosy, Sheriff and bounty hunters tracking down and hunting down people in the villages, caves, and jungles, and dragging accused lepers kicking and screaming off to die in a ‘FEMA camp’ of the day: the leper colony on Molokai.

According to author, many exiles were wrongly accused of having leprosy. Somehow their names were added into the ‘system’ and thus they were hunted down. If your name got added to the list…maybe by accident or someone does not like you, that was it. You were ‘in the system.’

Accused lepers did not always go peacefully.

There was death coming and going.

This book is amazingly similar to the past three years.

What was that book saying there is nothing new under the sun?