Sunday, August 10, 2008

more on the Olympics...joys and tradgedies

I was sort of surprised by the responses generated by my going on about the Olympics, but everyone is welcome to their say. I'm glad someone is reading it, and I am happy for you to say what is on your mind. I think the surface to air missiles are to protect the participants, not to wage war. We live in an uncertain world these days. However, war has broken out in the country of Georgia, with Russia. They didn't tell the team from there before the opening ceremonies yesterday. A former Olympic volleyball player's father was sightseeing in the city today/yesterday with his family and was killed by a beserker who stabbed him and injured his wife and tour guide, the girl was uninjured. The attacker jumped 130 feet off a balcony and did not survive the fall. Link to yahoo news about this story. Even with tremendous security there can be so much trouble. The article said that attacks on foreigners is very rare in China which makes the attack even more shocking.

I love the Olympics to be able to see excellence in the athlete's fields. I really don't care which country it is. Excellence speaks for itself. We were in and out all day today and this evening I fell asleep on the sofa while watching the games. Woke in time to see the women's relay swim. The Netherlands won that one, but the US took silver and the anchor on the team is a 41 year old woman who has been to 4 Olympic games. Her coach was diagnosed with aplastic anemia before the games and was not able to be with her in Beijing. She may have set a record, even with the team taking the silver. That takes a lot of heart to be able to carry on without the backup she has had for years and still perform admirably. The Chinese men's gymnasts were very good in the preliminaries. Got to tell you...I didn't see too much of anything today, but I held this sofa down like a true Olympic couch potato tonight.

The scheduling for the events is unbelievable. I just looked at the website and oh man! Take a look at this schedule! They deserve a medal just keeping up with what will be going on when and where and with which team! I hope to see some of the sailing (wonder what they did with that huge algae bloom just before the games were to open), and the equestrian competition, too. They have devoted three of the hd channels on my provider's coverage and I don't think that will be near enough.

We are going over to my husband's parent's home tomorrow to have an early celebration of my grandson's birthday. He will be 7 on Tuesday. It really doesn't seem that long on one hand and on the other SEVEN YEARS! That is a long time!

7 comments:

  1. Our TV never got turned on today. In fact, it hasn't been turned on in about 3 weeks. I am not expecting that to change.

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  2. Hi Amber, Happy Birthday to your grandson. Thanks for the coverage on the Olympics. I saw part of it last night and like you went to sleep. Enjoy your celebration. I finally got my awards given out! Thanks again.

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  3. I am not a fan of all the politics of the Olympics.....but I love to watch the athletes. So once they got past the Opening Ceremonies, I have watched a lot.
    I sure wish I were athletic, but alas, I am a hopeless couch potato! LOL

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  4. Oy... I actually never made it to watching the Olympics last night either... maybe tonight... It's HARD when one NEVER watches to suddenly stop everything and find time to just SIT in front of the television. I'm so glad you are enjoying them the way they SHOULD be enjoyed though!

    Happy 7th to that darlin' boy!!!

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  5. I am excited to meet a Texas blogger. I've been hoping to run into some. I lived in the Ft Worth area most of my life, until 2004 when I retired, and we moved to Hillsboro, OR (suburb of Portland.) So far I've only found one other blogger from TX. I'm also a genealogy person. I'd be pleased if you'd visit my blog, "Texas to Oregon."

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  6. Amber,
    I've spent some time reading your blog and see you are a knitter. I'm a long time knitter and have enjoyed knitting more since moving to the Pacific Northwest. The fibers are wonderful here and I can wear whatever I knit about 9 months out of the year. I knit almost exclusively on circular needles, unless it's a scarf. I knit socks on one long circular needle. It's called Magic Loop knitting. I see you are a Virgo and so am I.

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  7. Hello,
    This is my first visit here. I am with you on the Olympics. We watched the trials before the games, so we were familiar with the athletes and their abilities. Our TV is on during most of the events during the day. When we rest...we sit and watch it. We watch during prime time and have almost jumped out of our chairs with excitement when the USA wins. I pull for our country, but also feel joy for those from other countries... knowing how hard they have worked. I love the brotherhood of the Olympics.I feel that the world is a better place because of these couple of weeks.

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