I have my own version of CNN now. After being overloaded with reports from the happenings in the royal household of the United Kingdom, and the interest world media is giving the domestic problems in Buckingham Palace, I am introducing a new agency I will also call CNN. But it is not copied from the international one, mine is a localized one which stands for “CHISMIS NA NAMAN”. That can be abbreviated into CNN, too, can’t it? And if the original CNN sues me, WOW! I will be an international celebrity!
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Ah, but where do I start, and on whom, in a manner of speaking? Anyway I believe all my friends and kin here, save for a very few, either my classmates, teachers, friends, friends of my seven brothers and one sister, and friends of my dozens of uncles, aunts and cousins, without counting the in-laws. I guess I better forget the idea, unless someone suggests a “Classmastes NiNinfa” group. But a lot of my classmates are no longer living in Bacolod, not even in the Philippines, so I better forget the idea.
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But really, the world seems to be fascinated by affairs, private ones, that is, of other people. Take the case of Harry and Meghan. Of course I am referring to Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Beth, who fell in love with a non-royal girl and married her. The girl with the interesting name of Meghan Markle, seems to have lost her sparkle after a few weeks at Buckingham where she claimed she was locked in her room and her movements limited. And she confessed all this to Oprah Winfrey, probably one of the most widely read columnists in the world.
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The story of Meghan, who even revealed that she had wanted to commit suicide, almost took the attention away from the various variants of the COVID that have been puzzling medical practitioners and scientists all over the world! Probably the most frightening is what is happening in Brazil where at least 1,000 cases a day has been reported. What about other countries without access to international media? How are they faring? Surely not better than the United States and China, who have the wealth and resources to seek a 100 percent cure for it?
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This COVID virus is truly no respecter of class or color. I heard that the President of Syria and his wife have both been infected. Remember how Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom was among the first victims? But he survived, giving hope to others that COVID is not really a mortal enemy, that a lot of people do survive it. Now with vaccines available, we may forget all about our fears and horror when it first showed up. But let us pray that no other pandemic, or even epidemic comes up and catch our medics and scientists napping!
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If you are a world traveler and a lover of pizza, skip Tunisia from your itinerary. I heard that a pizza costs $360 there! You may have to pawn your return ticket if your pocket is not overflowing with dollars. I’m not boasting, but I really have gone to several countries, including Kuwait, but I still think food is less expensive in our own country. So, if you are planning to go on a tour – after the COVID is gone, of course – you know what places to skip unless you are loaded when you start.
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While several countries in Europe are reporting a rise in COVID cases, the United States is one where the numbers have dropped. This is supposed to be due to the vaccination campaign it has initiated. Now that vaccines are also available in our country, don’t be an ignoramus and run away from the needle. There is a lot of proof now that such vaccines do work. As aPinoy in Legaspi City emailed his uncle in the U.S. after his vaccination, ”Better safe than sorry”. But you won’t have time to be sorry if the COVID caught you first!
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Brazil! I always think of Brazil as one of the exotic countries I would visit some day. But now, it seems it is one heavily hit by the pandemic. I still remember a song “Brazil” that my uncles used to sing. Also I loved watching them dance to it during parties and balls, but I forgot the name – was it Rhumba? Or Samba? Anyway such memories were brought through an item on the COVID’s effect on Brazil! I believe all we can do, aside from submitting to vaccination, is still to pray that this pandemic goes away and we will never see or experience another one in our lifetime.*
