One March afternoon in 1969 I was on the deck of a Chinese junk listening to the water clop against the wooden hull and enjoying a breeze that blew toward the South China Sea. The junk bobbed ... [+]
"I'm thirsty and this drought has lasted ten days. Just one raindrop will do," he pleaded.
The next day a storm came. He opened his mouth wide and took it all in. At once, he opened his mouth and sighed.
"I'm drowning."