Reindeer Games
This is from a front-page story in the hard copy of the Chron today:
Coronavirus-related hospital admissions are climbing again in the United States, with older adults a growing share of U.S. deaths and less than half of nursing home residents up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations.
These alarming signs portend a difficult winter for seniors, which worries 81-year-old nursing home resident Bartley O’Hara, who said he is “vaccinated up to the eyeballs” and tracks coronavirus hospital trends as they “zoom up” for older adults, but remain flat for younger folks.
“The sense of urgency is not universal,” said O’Hara of Washington, D.C. But “if you’re 21, you probably should worry about your granny. We’re all in this together.”
One troubling indicator for seniors: Hospitalizations for people with COVID-19 rose by more than 30% in two weeks. Much of the increase is driven by older people and those with existing health problems, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The numbers include everyone testing positive, no matter why they are admitted.
Here is what I don’t get. There is no cure for COVID-19 and the flu. You get vaccinated. I am fully vaxxed and so is my Dad. I still wear a mask at a lot of places. Sigh.
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What are reindeer games anyway, as in “join in any reindeer games” from “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?”
Fredericksburg, Virginia just had their Reindeer Games. It is more like holiday festivities.
There was the “Reindeer Games” flick with Ben Affleck. I never saw it but it takes place right before Christmas so I guess some would say it is a Christmas flick. The flick didn’t get good reviews.
Next year, 2023, we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the naming of the eight reindeer. Yep, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” came out in 1823 and that is when we learned about the eight reindeer. Originally, Donner and Blitzen were Dunder and Blixem. Rudolph joined the games over a century later in 1939.
I am thinking folks can name the nine reindeer quicker than the seven dwarfs. Don’t you agree?
Speaking of, when was the last time you had figgy pudding? And yes, figs are part of the recipe.
Also, speaking of, how about Good King Wenceslas? Was he the real deal? Yep. Around the 10th century, in Bohemia in Czechia. The Feast of Stephen, December 26, stuff was probably a bit embellished but he was a good dude.
I was watching a Hallmark Christmas flick this past weekend and a question was asked why are red and green the colors of Christmas. The answer given was the Christmas tree and Santa’s wardrobe. That may be one answer among quite a few that are out there ranging from religious to food. I always thought that it was because green and red paired well.
There is no official Christmas office. If there was, the candy cane would be the official Christmas candy. Peppermint bark would make the semi-finals. Same for kisses. Same for M&Ms red and green plain and peanuts.
The official Christmas food varies by family and culture. It is tamales for ours. Jenna Bush Hager said a week or so ago that her family has been doing a Mexican food meal on Christmas Eve forever – a 43 family thing. Some folks do turkey. Brussel sprouts. Some do the Feast of Seven Fishes. I’ve also done the fishes and sprouts.
The official Christmas beer, hands down, Saint Arnold Christmas Ale. I got a few 12-packs here.
If you like Christmas tunes and have the SiriusXM app, you can listen to Billboard’s Top 112 Christmas tunes. You will likely disagree with the rankings. They have José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” at number 6. Ok.
Arts and crafts are talents that don’t exist in Commentary. In elementary school, my arts and crafts projects were the worse. In the sixth grade, we did a reindeer ceramic. I tried to make mine a Rudolph. He looked like he had gotten his nosed pummeled in a rough reindeer game. Same thing goes for my Christmas wrapping. I am the worse. I use way too much scotch tape.
Oh, yeah, two weeks from today is the day after Christmas.
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It was good to see NBC News journalist Miguel Almaguer back on the air this morning on “Today.”
“Today” interviewed Al Roker from home this morning. Al has been sidelined the past few weeks with blood clots. He didn’t say when he would return to studio 1A. Get well, Al!
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Social media stirred a bit some because the Texans were ahead of the Cowboys yesterday. I must admit, I did switch channels on the flat screen. The Texans ended up losing. Then I thought to myself, what am I doing watching a team that has a 1-10-1 record? Now it is 1-11-1.
Nothing to report from the World Series Champions today.