Letter 1.24

…I've just returned from flood-ridden Colombo to flood-struck Dodanduwa. The monsoon has begun. Colombo is under 2 or 3 inches but I was told that while I was gone the outlet from the lagoon to the Ocean here got blocked up with rubble, it rained for 4 days and nights, and the water rose 4 feet! It was necessary to swim between the two islands, since the foot-path was totally submerged. (Fortunately, the houses are all on high ground.) For meals the monks made do or did without. No reports of ducks in robes washed ashore…