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This
is NOT the official newspaper column of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Never mind that I live just a javelin toss away from a real, live,
actual Olympian (OK, so maybe he hasn’t actually worn the red, white and
blue since the Carter Administration – it’s an Olympic year, and an
Olympian is an Olympian!). Forget that in an earlier professional life I
covered the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles and the 1988 Winter Games at
Calgary. And don't even consider the fact that I know someone who knows
someone who knows someone who knows someone who actually helped deliver
bribes . . . er, booty . . . er, gifts to visiting Olympic bid
decision-makers back in the 1990s.
None of that matters. Not proximity. Not experience. Not connections.
None of it.
The only thing that matters in this regard is money, and I don't have
the financial wherewithal to be the official Olympic ANYTHING. In fact,
I'm probably walking on thin ice here just by using the O-word. There
are probably limitations and restrictions regarding its use of which I'm
unaware – but ignorance of the law being no excuse, next week's column
will probably be coming to you from some Swiss slammer.
Assuming, of course, that there are slammers in Switzerland.
All of which is why I want to make it very clear right up front that
this is NOT the official newspaper column of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Besides, I'm not sure what I could possibly say about the athletes who
will be competing during the upcoming Olympics that I can't already say
about men and women occupied in non-Olympic endeavors all around the
world.
Take Joni, for example. Joni is one of the hardest-working, most
dedicated colleagues with whom I have ever had the privilege of working.
Bright, good-natured and loyal, she is the ultimate team player, always
willing to give that extra effort for the good of the project or the
company. She also does an amazing job of maintaining balance in her life
as a single mom, finding quality time for friends, family members and
her No. 1 priority: her teenage daughter.
Then there's Neal, a friend of mine who is going through some of that
"agony of defeat" stuff lately. Despite a long and successful career
with his employer, he was laid off as part of the company's strategy for
making it through the current economic "situation" – you know, the
recession that isn’t really a recession. Neal has faced this
adversarial turn of events in his life with characteristic wit and good
cheer, and he has worked hard for months to find another job. It's been
discouraging at times, but he keeps on trying, and you just know that
with his talent and great attitude, he's eventually going to make it
back to the medals podium.
And what about the two young men I watched during an intense (read: “no
decapitation, no foul”) family reunion basketball game last weekend?
There was a close play, with lots of flailing familial arms and legs,
and the ball skipped out of bounds. One cousin thought he was the last
one to touch the ball, and handed the ball over to the other team. But
the other young man looked his rival cousin in the eye and shook his
head and said, “I touched it after you did,” and handed the ball back.
And then they went back to trying to physically destroy each other.
Within the rules, of course.
See what I mean? It's all around us. Olympic performance and
accomplishment. Olympic courage in the face of adversity. Olympic
sportsmanship and integrity. Olympic kindness and compassion and
service. That's the spirit of the Olympics, and it's everywhere.
Whether or not you read about it in an official Olympic newspaper
column.
# # #
Joseph Walker
RE: Remembering Sam
Dear Editor,
I just finished the written work of Remembering Sam. The writer has
shown how losing one's animal still can have a lasting impact on our
soul. Thank you for sharing her story. This story was so vividly
filled with so much love.
George H,
Re: The Foibles of Facial Folicilazation, by Joseph Walker
What a rush we were
in to get older in appearance. How wise to enjoy each year, day by day
and feel good about ourselves as this story indicates. Hooray for the
young and wise. We can learn from them!
Bev S. |
