How fortuitous that I scheduled my vacation right during the 2008 Summer Olympics! If I'd of been home, I would not have seen any of it except for on the weekend because of the three hour time difference between the east and west coast. As it was, every evening, after our daily vacation adventures, Trevor, Court, Jayden and I would settle in to take in as many events as possible until sleep overtook us. Jayden called it the "lympics". Every time someone would dive or complete their gymnastics routine, he'd clap right along with the crowd on the TV.
Anyway, the opening and closing ceremonies blew me away. I've never seen such a well orchestrated and unusual presentation. I have to say that during the course of the games I came to have great respect, admiration and affection for the Chinese people-but not for their government. Michael Phelps is simply a swimming machine like no other! Happy for him that he was able to make history and I think it's very brave of him to plan on going to London in 2012. It will be tough following his own act! While I enjoyed all the events, in particular I loved the gymnastics, swimming, diving, running, and beach volleyball the best. Nastia Lukin showed such grace under fire when she was fluked out of the gold medal in the uneven bars-that's OK Nastia, the entire world knows that you are the one who REALLY won! Shawn Johnson was amazing and adorable as well. Kudos to Misty and Kari on the beach volleyball victory and to all the other fab athletes from the USA who managed to bring home a whopping 110 medals: 36 GOLD, 38 SILVER, AND 36 BRONZE!! We were ranked 2nd to China who won 51 gold, 21 silver, and 28 bronze. They got 100 medals overall but beat us out in the standings with the higher proportion of gold medals. Dara Torres did us proud, too, and I sure wish she would have been able to shave that .01 to get the gold from Germany in the 50m free. But, it was still awesome for her and I'm very thrilled that she did so well. It is my hope that the Olympic Committee will be diligent in researching the eligibility of the Chinese gymnasts in question. Rules are rules even if you are the host country!
Just as the fanfare died down on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, here comes the Democratic National Convention on it's heels. Well, we need something to focus on don't we? I enjoyed very much listening to Michelle Obama but the standout of the night last night for me was the appearance of Ted Kennedy. The guy has had his share of ups and downs and he has certainly made his mistakes but you have to admire his dedication to public service and the tasks at hand even in the face of potentially fatal illness. He is an American institution and it did warm my heart to see his passion for life in the midst of very difficult circumstances.
I am following all of the political unfoldings with the greatest of interest. I am looking forward to seeing what the Republican camp has to say for themselves as well during their convention. Given the political climate, desire for change in this country, the unpopularity of the current administration, the dire economic issues, and the polarity between the two candidates, I honestly don't see a Republican candidate being viable for the top job but we shall see...I am also curios how all the political blather will fare against the season premier of Gray's Anatomy and The Office :)
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