Awesome Olympians

How about some good news for a change? One thing I love about the Olympics is a spirit of ... brotherhood? comaraderie? a sense that all of us are, after all, of the human race? I love watching the games. I am a tad biased toward the Americans, of course, but I love to watch all the athletes. Last night, the Americans weren't in contention for a figure skating medal but I still felt engaged by the stories of the teams competing from Russia and China.

Human interest items I learned: in 2004, Maxim Marinen of Russia accidentally fell while he was lifting his partner, Tatiana Totmianina. She hit the ice hard and was knocked unconscious, suffering a severe concussion. The effect on Marinen was profound. While Tatiana didn't remember the accident, Marinen seemed to have a sort of post traumatic stress reaction. It was very hard for him to get back into the swing of things and their performance last night was restrained on his part. He didn't want to drop her, that was clear. Still, their performance was good enough to earn them gold. He went down on one knee before her afterwards, as if to show his deep appreciation for her trust in him. It was very moving.

Then there was the story of Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China. He'd had a severely injured achilles tendon and I saw some footage of the back of his leg. It looked like it had been split wide open . The broadcaster was talking about how Zhao had to get a larger skate shoe for that foot because it was bigger since the surgery. Everyone wondered if he'd be able to go for the long program. They looked great though and ended up with a bronze.

The last pair to skate were Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang. They were going to attempt a quadruple something something something throw. Now, I have to say that I really admire the guts of the female in the pair. She really has to put a lot of trust in the male who is lifting her, carrying her, throwing her and otherwise putting her in harm's way if he's careless. I'm not sure exactly what happened after the throw. I just remember that she went down on her knees, bam! and slid into the wall. I was sure she was done, but no, she didn't want the stretcher and she wanted to go on. She finished the program and not only that, but she looked beautiful--like nothing had happened to her. Wow! They were awarded the silver medal and I was so happy about that!

I watched Joey Cheek skate to first place in the men's speed skating race. What a wonderful smile on his face when he realized how well he did! And most impressive of all--he's donated his prize money to a Sudanese relief fund! Most of our participating athletes aren't professionals and all that training costs them a lot of money. So I admire him for taking $25,000 and giving it away. Read the whole story here.

Tuesday Tales

What is your most treasured material possession?

My wedding rings, the one I'm wearing now and the one I wore when I was married to my late first husband.

What is the best advice that you’ve ever received?

This, too, shall pass.

What characteristics do you think you’ve inherited from your parents?

generosity, a desire to help, stubbornness, and tenacity

Is there one piece of criticism that sticks in your mind?

No, they all stick. :P

What ambitions do you still have to fulfil?

I still want to publish a book!