For the first time in my life yesterday, I wished I were a billionaire. Why? I would have been able to join Jeff Bezos and his gang on their next visit to the moon and see what it is really like over there. Would the moon be as beautiful as it looks to us when it is full, or will it be as hot as the sun when you are close to it? One cannot help envying those guys who can afford to join Mr. Bezos on his actual trip to the moon, something millions of people around the world must have longed to do but never knew how to do it!
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But let us content ourselves with the accounts of Mr. Bezos and, later, of all the billionaires who could afford the “ticket” for the trip. Who knows if they will actually meet the man in the moon? And if they find it habitable enough to bring their families there for a tour? It does seem that so many things that are believed impossible in past generations are becoming possible now. Possible, that is, if you happen to be a billionaire which is the requirement for joining Mr. Bezos. Ah, but I believe the time is not far away when such trips will be just ordinary excursions for humans.
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And those humans, perhaps, no longer need to be billionaires. A long time ago, only moneyed people could afford to go to the United States or to Europe, but now one no longer needs millions to do so. The world is really getting smaller and smaller. But one disadvantage is that, it is also easier for virus to move from one country to the other, as has been illustrated by the latest one, with the fancy name of coronavirus, to reach as many continents as it can!
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While we are on the subject of space travel, however, we also wonder whether the much-awaited Olympic games are proceeding as every sports-loving being is hoping. And it does seem to be going on, as the latest I heard was that Japan had beaten Australia in softball. Of course, the Aussies will not claim it was a hometown decision. Japan must have been preparing for this hosting of the Olympics for years, and I will not be surprised if they are angling for the over-all championship, too. At least the games will take our minds off problems like pandemics and vaccinations!
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But a warning has also come out that the games may be cancelled in case any sign of a spike in the number of COVID cases in the country is noted. Oh, what a killjoy this COVID is. I hope it will stand by while the world focuses attention on the major sports event of the year. I am sure the Olympics can even reduce the number of Covid cases, because it can keep people home watching the competitions, rather than go out to seek entertainment, and encounter some virus along the way.
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But it is not only COVID that is killjoy of the year. In some areas like Henan province that I think is in China, rains that fell in only three days were reported to the equivalent in volume to that of one year! Again, I thought of the time of Noah, and wonder if the Lord will inspire the people there on how to save themselves. These are strange times, indeed, that our generation is going through, and one can only wonder if there is a message from the Lord to us in all of these.
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Seems nothing is stopping the Olympic games in Tokyo and everything is going on as if there were no pandemic. Well that should be an inspiration to people all over the world, a demonstration that the spirit of sportsmanship is one thing that can inspire and enable people to overcome obstacles, even if they come in the form of pandemics! I’m sure the games are diverting people, even those not ordinarily absorbed in sports, from the problems of the day, especially this gift from Wuhan, China with the fancy name of “coronavirus”.
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The bad news is that young people in the United States have been victimized by the COVID, with the latest reported at a Florida school summer camp. Now there was a strange statement flashed across the TV screen. It said “Vaccine misinformation coming straight from the halls of Congress”. I waited for a while, but did not see any disclaimer. But I couldn’t wait any longer, I have a deadline to meet, and so, as they say in the serials of Tagalong magazines, “Abangan ang susunod na kabanata”. In other words, wait for the next installment.*
