Riding the Wave, 27. Orderly Chaos.

The world keeps pushing merrily along in its wild disorder, sometimes more chaotic, sometimes more harmonious. Everything changes, yet everything seems the same. There are days we seem to be standing on one leg without being able to rest.

Vaccination has begun in the United Kingdom. Already, the first problems with the Pfizer vaccine have appeared. Two health care workers reacted with anaphylactic shock. They were quickly treated, and nothing happened. It turned out they both had serious allergies for which they carried Epi pens. As a consequence, those with serious allergies have been alerted not to get the Pfizer vaccine. With so many people in the world suffering from serious allergies, that is a concern. I, myself, am allergic to a number of different things, from some fruits to pollens, yet nothing serious enough to run the risk of shock. I do want to get vaccinated, so I hope no more problems arise.

Hungary, instead of waiting for the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines to get the green light from Brussels, has decided to go solo, and bought into the Russian vaccine, aptly named Sputnik. I am getting into stererotypes here, but it sounds as if someone in the Russian research labs was a teetotaler with ulterior motives. It appears that the Sputnik vaccine interacts with alcohol, and people are being told not to consume alcohol for at least a month and a half after receiving it. Then I hear of a Russian Orthodox priest flying in a helicopter over a town, sprinkling it with holy water so the inhabitants will stop drinking and repent of their sinful lives. Hmmm.

In the total of Spain, numbers do seem to be going down, though locally they're going in the opposite direction. Of course, with the total disregard most Spaniards have towards rules and regulations, after Christmas they will probably soar, again. It's going to be a long first half of the year.

The ex-King, Juan Carlos, currently residing in Abu Dhabi, has decided to pay off some fines to the Spanish tax office. Apart from all the black money he's squirreled away in Switzerland and other places, on which he paid no taxes, he also used an opaque credit card that drew from obscure money sources that were undeclared. He apparently also lent that credit card to his daughters and a couple of the grandchildren, for simple, every day expenses most teenagers have, like buying and keeping a race horse, Uber rides, extensive clothes shopping, and piano lessons. Over two hundred fifty thousand euros a year, well above the legal limit beyond which the money transfer must be declared as a gift. Juan Carlos seems to feel he's like in a prison in the luxurious Abu Dhabi hotel he's been living in, and wants out for Christmas. So, he is trying to make up with the tax office. The problem? They'll probably accept his overtures, and he'll make a comeback to the Madrid palace to spend Christmas with the family. He should be in prison, but that's another story. At the very least, he should go away and stay away, like his grandfather, Alfonso XIII.

In the United States, Texas and seventeen other Republican-led states want to file a brief with the Supreme Court, alleging that various states (the ones that most count in the Electoral College) have changed voting regulations unlawfully, and that all the votes admitted by those changes should be thrown out. The regulations refer to voting by mail, which was most used by those voting Democrat. Trump has added himself to the lawsuit. If he can't win by crook, he will try to win by hook. But they present very little evidence, and most who understand these things say they have less than a snowball's chance in hell that the Supreme Court will admit the complaint. 

In the meantime, death threats against state officials continue. Some have had armed protestors outside their homes. All have received threats agains themselves and their families. With each judicial reverse against Trump, his most vocal followers are growing in anger. It's just a matter of time before violence erupts. Even if there is no major violence, I'm almost certain that someone will get killed because Trump doesn't want to leave office, just because he hates to be considered a loser. Well, he's been a loser from his first bankruptcy. 

Today is St. Lucia´s Day, patron saint of the eyes, which means that in Sweden it's a holiday, and I believe children receive presents. In our parish there are special Masses at the chapel dedicated to her. Normally, there's an overflow, especially at the later Masses, and there are bagpipers, and sometimes some sort of celebration all day in the oak grove next to the chapel. Not this year, though we did hear the noise bombs go off, so someone remembered.

The good news is that our daughter and her friend are both negative for Covid, and may they stay that way. We continue living our little lives, confident that we will make it to the other side of the pandemic, and that we can finally dispense with masks and confinement. Fingers are crossed.

Life continues.