NOBODY OUGHT TO SUFFER LIKE THAT. Disasters, from the Carnival cruise ship to the slum of Dharavi.

The weather in Los Angeles: Rain, high of 59. I AM SUFFERING.

But of course things were much, much worse for passengers on the Carnival Cruise. IT WAS HORRIBLE, JUST HORRIBLE, Maria Hernandez said of the conditions on the disabled ship (The Guardian, 15 Feb). People had to CONDUCT BODILY FUNCTIONS in red bags. OMG! They must have suffered, but probably not as much as the people in Dharavi.

Dharavi is a slum in India that covers an area smaller than Central Park (NY Times, 29 Dec 2011). A million people live there. The place is rife with tuberculosis. There are open sewers, drinking water shortages, flies and mosquitoes, families crammed into tiny shacks. And TRAFFIC BLEATING – I know what those people are going through. Noise pollution is a terrible thing. I have a neighbour who plays the organ.

And it must be truly horrible in the crowded Yare prison in Venezuela. “A thick black line of HUMAN EXCREMENT ran down an exterior wall,” the New Yorker reported (28 Jan). I would like take up a collection and send those guys a superpack of IMODIUM. The problem is how to get the medication to the men. We might have to use carrier pigeons. As one guard explained: If you hang around too long, “the inmates might shoot at you.” My advice is: don’t get yourself into unnecessary trouble and don’t suffer if you don’t have to, like

Roald Amundsen, who died on a disastrous expedition to the North Pole in 1925. I can’t say I sympathize with him. Why did he have to go to the Arctic, when he could have checked out 2flashgames.com and “raced from iceberg to iceberg in a snowmobile?” Or else, he could have explored downtown LA. It’s an adventure, let me tell you. I got lost there twice.

Meanwhile here on the West side, it's raining on and off, and I AM SUFFERING.

So is stunt woman Heidi Pascoe, who shares her experience plunging from a scaffold (LA Times,18 Feb). It’s SO HIGH UP, she notes. If you miss your landing, it FEELS LIKE CONCRETE. No sympathy from me, Heidi. You know the saying: Candy is dandy, but sex doesn’t rot your teeth? Well, all I can say is: Jumping is dandy, but sex doesn’t wreck your joints. Unless you are into Kama Sutra of course.

You all remember the disaster brought on by Hurricane Sandy. Gas shortages, power outages, destruction, sleeping on COTS IN HIGH SCHOOL GYMS (NYer Feb 11) -- I totally sympathize with those folks. I hate camping, too. Meanwhile, I read that

First Lady Sybil died, and now Matthew has lost his life in a fatal accident (LA Times, 16 Feb). It’s a FAMILY TRAGEDY of major proportions. Oh, wait. That happened on DOWNTON ABBEY.

But Christina Applegate suffered for real during her pregnancy (Accessholliwood.com. 26 July 2010). Finding the right dress was incredibly DAUNTING. She went through lots of styles. Nothing fit. IT WAS A DISASTER. I felt so sorry for Christina. I don't know how she got through it all.

Meanwhile the rain has stopped here, but let me tell you, friends:IT WAS INCREDIBLY DAUNTING.