Except for two or three countries, this year did not start with fireworks. Governments were worried these would attract the crowds, which could lead to super spreader events of the Pandemic. They prefer the people to spread it behind closed doors, to in January all go out in the world again and create another wave of fear. Many countries resorted to amazing drone flights depicting all sorts of wonderful animals or laser shows.
Not the same thing though.
In our twilight years, we never go out on New Year’s eve, but always enjoyed all the big parties other people were having.
As a young teenager and woman, I still remember being with the family until twelve, after which we all went to our favourite pub. Parents, kids, grannies and grandpas. My youngest brother, who came 13 years after the brother before him, was 2 years old when he was taken along as all the usual babysitters were out partying.
Probably very much frowned upon then and now, but he doesn’t seem to have had any detrimental effects from it.
I pity the young people during this whole thing, but not too much as I think the children of the many wars- or storm-torn countries on this earth have a bit more to worry about than not going to concerts or seeing their friends in the flesh. Ours have all the mod cons of the digital world to support them. But don’t have to worry when a bomb will fall or where their next meal is coming from.
This year we have the disagreements about the new vaccines. There are only enough vaccines for the tiniest percentage of the population, and people are already moaning about not wanting them or wanting them now.
Personally, I have my reservations about the newer method of using Messenger RNA to improve your body’s resistance. The explanation is a bit lame. Plus why always telling people a new treatment takes years to developed safely and now pushing it on the market within 4 to 5 months?
Wiki still: A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe, its toxins, or one of its surface proteins.
Luckily, a few vaccines are developed that use the old and trusted method from our flue vaccines. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it, has always been my motto. When my turn has come, I think being over 65 and high risk, May, I will ask for the latter one. If I have no choice in the matter, I will trust in my own immunity system.
Having had all the childhood illnesses and survived and Dengue and SARS must count for something.
My mum used to send us to play with kids who had the Mumps, Chickenpocks, Rubella, to give us early immunity. She could have probably killed us, but she was very young.
The Dengue one I remember vividly as I was already 14 and living in the Tropics and the SARS, when I had to travel to Japan, as sick as a dog and was afraid they would stop me in the Airport in Tokyo.
They only sprayed us with some disinfectant and I luckily got to give my two weeks training.
All that mask-wearing and not being very tactile, probably saved me being a superspreader. As far as I know, they all survived my visit.
Enough of that. You hear about that on all the media already. Let’s take another subject.
The worrying trend of incompetent governments getting more and more oppressive in a time that is already sending shock waves through the economy.
Take the Netherlands where a court has condemned the Prime Minister and his cronies for unlawful behaviour towards their citizens and neglect of those people’s welfare.
Did they leave hanging their head in shame? No, they took this pandemic and applied measures to counter it applied on just the time this verdict came out to hide behind.
They say a pandemic is not the time to leave their post.
The way they have handled this pandemic is one of the greater fiascos of that country’s history.
The way they treated poor single mums, preferably from a foreign background, accusing them of tax fraud, charging them thousands of euro’s, using the power of the court to hammer any resistance down and bringing thousands of Dutch families to the depths of poverty for eleven!!!!! Years without any regret is one of the biggest crimes this century.
Five years ago, it was found a mistake was made and still until a week ago the families have not been imbursed and fines paid by the Tax office for treating them like that.
The power of Twitter and the fear for elections in March, now finally made them pay 30.000 euro. For many, not even the amount they had to pay. Children of those people have grown up in abject poverty and maybe missed any change to get a proper education.
The deceitful way the culprits behaved in court, was so despicable, it made me want to destroy them on the spot.
No one admitted knowing anything of it, and they accused the minister from that year 11 years ago, not to have done his job.
And they are still in charge of the Netherlands? Still, 40% of the Dutch population has the gall to say they will re-elect them.
I read somewhere that the Rich are what the Middle classes aim to, the Poor are what they fear and pay taxes to keep both in place.
Right, preaching over. For more happy news: My eldest son has asked his partner to marry him this Christmas. I am so pleased, as I love that girl and admire her artistic talent. She hasn’t had an easy life living with ADHD and obesity.
After a heroic struggle and swearing off gluten and lactose and becoming a Vegan, she is following a very demanding fitness routine and looks a million dollars.
She was always fine to me, but for her, it is so lovely not to be discriminated and made fun off. People are such a-holes.
She fits very well with my son, who is a bit eccentric at the best of times. They both seem to have found their niche workwise and are doing up their first house. What more does a mother want?
I am writing the last chapter of my book. Have already edited the thing three times and start to see some improvement.
The last chapter is actually somewhere one-third of the way and is supposed to explain, why later some of the characters are where they are and give more information on this new world order.
Light flu has kept me from finishing it, though the first 4000 words are done. Double that, and I should start this querying thing, I hear so much about on Twitter.
I love/hate every aspect of this writing journey as in looking back, it was always better than when I was in the middle of it.
Have found converting it to my KIndle, gives me the best view on what to change.
Maybe because I read on a Kindle all the time I can pretend it is a book written by someone else.
Just read two books of starting writers and the first had an excellent story, but it could have done with tons of editing. It was a shame because I was really into it, but had to stop halfway and look to the end to see how he ended it. A sign that I did find the character interesting if somewhat full of himself.
The second, supposedly a thriller, did not do that at all. In the second chapter, I knew already how it would go, and I would say to the writer: “Use a Synonym Thesaurus, for Pete’s sake!”
It did help me more with revising mine than really well-written books do. The latter only gives me the infamous Imposter syndrome.
Here is my one and only New Year Resolution: Publish the book!
