MY WINTER OLYMPICS

On my way home to tune in to the Winter Olympics this afternoon, I had just alighted from the crosstown bus, one step at a time, and was inching across the icy sidewalk when my cane slipped and took on a life of its own, skittering away to finally come to rest in a snow bank.  Flailing about, slipping and sliding, I attempted to retrieve it.  Thankfully, a very kind young lady, blonde and extremely attractive, came to my rescue.  She not only held my hand until I retrieved my cane but insisted on assisting me to my apartment building a half block down the street.  Grateful, you bet.  I have promised myself to cease forwarding ‘dumb blonde’ jokes  on the Internet.

You must know that the Olympics started over three thousand years ago in Greece.  The first Olympics had only one event, a sprint, but other events were slowly added until today we celebrate two Olympics, summer and winter, one event every two years which include dozens of different competitions.  So, safely seated in my wing chair, slippered and sipping a glass of wine, I tuned into the Winter Olympics, grateful to be home.  Watching the young, young folks engaged in all their death defying feats I cheered them all - male and female and no matter what their country of origin.  Well, I did cheer a bit harder for those from the USA, but all of the contestants - so full of life, so gifted, so hard working - I, for one, proud of each and every one of them.

But for me, this winter with all the difficult weather, in spite of my growing difficulty in walking and the necessary cutting back on my physical activities, I am enjoying the Olympics more than ever before.  Just the fact that I have escaped a serious fall and am in good health is reason enough to celebrate.  But I watch the competitions with great joy and such happy remembrances of my own amateur swimming competitions as a Boy Scout, my failed attempts at basketball and the disappointing realization that I would never, ever weigh enough to play football.  But I can view the Olympics and I can write about them.  Hallelujah!!  Who says growing older can’t have its own special moments?  And right now, my moment is relishing the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.