Today was a great day. I went to my new family ward and it felt like just where I was supposed to be. A new couple just moved in that graduated from Utah State, where I graduated from 4 yrs ago. Instant Aggie friends!!! Love it!
Then a few of my singles friends came over and I made dinner and we played settlers of Katan. I love that game.
This morning I reminded my self of a few things from the 1996 Olympics. Michael Johnson was an amazing runner, he wore golden shoes. Gail Devers was also awesome, and she had really long finger nails. In the 1996 Olympic men's marathon someone finished over an hour behind the field, and they waited and allowed him to finish, because it was the Olympic spirit to finish the race. Vitali Scherbo of Belarus competed after not really fully training for the year before because his wife had been in a coma and he refused to leave her side. He still pulled out a bronze. A gymnast from Italy nicknamed "Lord of the Rings" won the Gold in the men's individual rings competition, and on a sad note, there was a bombing during the 1996 Olympics. Two people died, and over 100 were injured.
Everything I read on the games, called the games itself a bit of a mess, too corporate, bad transportation, security issues. But it deeply praised the athletes that saved those games. And that is why I remember 1996 fondly- The athletes were amazing, and most of them embodied the Olympic ideals of fair play, finishing the race, overcoming personal challenges and that sort of thing.
That was when Gary Hall, and Amanda Beard started their Olympic Careers, I watched the US equestrian team medal, the us women's soccer team won the first Gold medal in that event, and Mohammad Ali lit the cauldron and got a replacement gold medal. John Williams made an amazing Olympic sound track, Celine Dion sang Power of the Dream, and Gloria Estefan sang Reach. Great songs, great stories, great athletes to me overcame most of the negatives. The bombing, I will never forget, that is very sad and unfortunate, and totally not cool, but there was a really great security guard named Richard Jewell, who spotted the bomb first and was able to get a lot of people out of the area to safety.
I think that despite the judging scandals, Commercialism, and doping issues that come with every games, its important to remember what makes them worth watching any way. There are honest athletes - most of them, I would bet, who work hard and dedicate their whole lives to doing something great, something no one has done before, doing something to the best of their ability, for self, for nation, for love of the sport. That even though it isn't always so (Russia invaded Georgia during the 2008 games, for instance) its two weeks that the world is asked to be at peace with each other, and that usually does happen. Its a time for everyone to come together, and celebrate what is great about being human. I hope that we all remember that, and don't let that other stuff get in the way in these games. There will be problems, there always are, but if we let it, we can use the two weeks of the Olympic Games, then the Para Olympic games to see what is possible when we work and do our best
Then a few of my singles friends came over and I made dinner and we played settlers of Katan. I love that game.
This morning I reminded my self of a few things from the 1996 Olympics. Michael Johnson was an amazing runner, he wore golden shoes. Gail Devers was also awesome, and she had really long finger nails. In the 1996 Olympic men's marathon someone finished over an hour behind the field, and they waited and allowed him to finish, because it was the Olympic spirit to finish the race. Vitali Scherbo of Belarus competed after not really fully training for the year before because his wife had been in a coma and he refused to leave her side. He still pulled out a bronze. A gymnast from Italy nicknamed "Lord of the Rings" won the Gold in the men's individual rings competition, and on a sad note, there was a bombing during the 1996 Olympics. Two people died, and over 100 were injured.
Everything I read on the games, called the games itself a bit of a mess, too corporate, bad transportation, security issues. But it deeply praised the athletes that saved those games. And that is why I remember 1996 fondly- The athletes were amazing, and most of them embodied the Olympic ideals of fair play, finishing the race, overcoming personal challenges and that sort of thing.
That was when Gary Hall, and Amanda Beard started their Olympic Careers, I watched the US equestrian team medal, the us women's soccer team won the first Gold medal in that event, and Mohammad Ali lit the cauldron and got a replacement gold medal. John Williams made an amazing Olympic sound track, Celine Dion sang Power of the Dream, and Gloria Estefan sang Reach. Great songs, great stories, great athletes to me overcame most of the negatives. The bombing, I will never forget, that is very sad and unfortunate, and totally not cool, but there was a really great security guard named Richard Jewell, who spotted the bomb first and was able to get a lot of people out of the area to safety.
I think that despite the judging scandals, Commercialism, and doping issues that come with every games, its important to remember what makes them worth watching any way. There are honest athletes - most of them, I would bet, who work hard and dedicate their whole lives to doing something great, something no one has done before, doing something to the best of their ability, for self, for nation, for love of the sport. That even though it isn't always so (Russia invaded Georgia during the 2008 games, for instance) its two weeks that the world is asked to be at peace with each other, and that usually does happen. Its a time for everyone to come together, and celebrate what is great about being human. I hope that we all remember that, and don't let that other stuff get in the way in these games. There will be problems, there always are, but if we let it, we can use the two weeks of the Olympic Games, then the Para Olympic games to see what is possible when we work and do our best
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