How time flies. As I sometimes do, I went back in my files to read my report from the previous year, and a year ago today, I wrote that my mom was gravely ill and that I would not be posting for a few weeks. She passed within the next three weeks and there has been a lot of water under the bridge since that time. As Shauna’s parents are now in their late 80’s I once again prepare for the challenges we will face, balancing their desire for independence with their increased needs for assistance. Sometimes reconciling the two is not a pleasant experience, either for the parent or the child.
The London Summer Olympic Games have begun, and last Friday we enjoyed the broadcast of the opening ceremonies. I particularly liked the depiction of early industrial London and the symbolic forging of the Olympic rings. Someone on the internet referred to it as leftist drivel, or something to that effect. I could have done without the sky littered with flying Mary Poppins, or the creepy giant inflatable baby, but that’s just me. One final comment on the opening ceremonies: I think it is time for Sir Paul McCartney to fade quietly into the night. While I love the music of the Beatles, and I think McCartney is a gifted songwriter, it’s enough already.
Of course, there have been the usual Olympic controversies, as there always are when the world is watching. There was the gate crashing woman in red seen marching with the Indian athletes in the opening ceremonies. In the “Oops!” department, we had the raising of the South Korean flag before the women’s football game between North Korea and Columbia. And once again the Olympic torch was under fire. During the Vancouver olympics people were upset because the torch was only visible from a distance, and from behind an ugly chain link security fence. Now, in London, one cannot even see the torch unless one is inside the stadium. Pyro that I am, I always love it when they light that torch. Fast forward over the marching athletes (hurry up Gabon!) and get on with the fire lighting event! London Mayor Boris Johnson assures us anybody can see the London flame, on T.V that is. One thing that has been on the news constantly over the past few days is the number of empty seats. I don’t know if it is no-shows who have paid or some booking screw up, but I think it would be better for everyone if the coordinators could figure out how to fill those seats, especially given the ill-conceived placement of the torch. Republican presidential candidate Mitt “The Twit” Romney put his foot in his mouth with his stupid Anglo Saxon heritage remarks and his ill-considered questioning of how well the London summer games will “work out.” Diplomacy is after all a part of the job, and if he can’t figure out how to positively spin an Olympic Games photo opportunity, perhaps he’s got a public relations problem. How does that old saying go: better to say nothing and look like a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt? All eyes were on over-hyped swimmer Michael Phelps, who did not even place in the 400 Meter individual medley, beat handily by teammate Ryan Lochte. Phelps did medal in the 400 Meter Freestyle relay, along with Lochte, and is I believe two medals away from an all time record. Lots of press about the American swimmers, but how about that French swimmer Yannick Agnel? I love it when the under-hyped shine. The Brits were favored to dominate the cycling competition, but Kazakhstan’s Alexandre Vinokourov won the gold in the men’s cycling road race, and I believe Columbia and Norway were silver ad bronze. Personally, my favorites are the gymnastics events, and I will make every effort to catch as many of those contests as possible.
While some of the Olympic tennis matches were rained out at Wimbledon, here in the Great White North we are still parched. I thought we were going to get some soaking rain today, but consulting my weather radar, I see that we are not going to get nearly as much as expected. Presently we are doing some long overdue landscaping on our property, and the approach to our house looks like a dust bowl. Today’s brief showers did something to hold down the dust but I fear it will be back soon. I heard on the news today that a local fireworks event was cancelled, for fear of sparking a catastrophic fire. My concern is “dry” lightning, because while we are getting no rain, there has been some lightning and thunder. I believe there was a fire in Algonquin Park last week, perhaps sparked by lightning.
Final note. I just finished Hitchen’s book God is Not Great, and as much as I agree with many of his points about the potential evils of religion, I still hold on to the slim hope of an afterlife. Mom, if you’re out there, I think about you every day. Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2012 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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