How to be.

People of the blogosphere take note: courtesy should not be optional.

When a nice lady is on the tale end of a rather long walk, whilst still recovering from both ankle surgery and plantar fasciitis, finds your stray dog, cleverly and with some effort corrals him, and then walks him about a mile back to his home while slumped over in agony because she is holding firm to the collar, and she shows up, bright red from exertion and the day’s heat, holding said dog while you are on the phone she tried to call and was not allowed to leave a message on, maybe offer her a seat… some water… don’t simply take the dog in and never return.

Seriously – I had to ASK if I could sit for a moment on the retaining wall, I was panting so hard. YOU try walking a mile hunched with a dog pulling you faster, get a blister doing it, get your nice clothes all sweaty, then don’t get more than a half-hearted “thank you,” and tell me you wouldn’t be annoyed. The neighbor from far away was more thoughtful and considerate than the owner. By the way, that neighborhood hasn’t house numbers related to the actual long drives that go up, so I went down the wrong ones until that neighbor directed me. And yes, they are more like estates.

I just think something is wrong with our society when someone extends a kindness, and common courtesy, much less gratitude, is not shown in return. What happened to manners? When did being polite become unusual?

I say all this knowing it’s more likely that all dogs will learn to carry their leashes with them when escaping than for our society to remember how to and then regularly practice courtesy. I’m not jaded, I’m just mournful of such a great loss.

The last hurrah.

So yes, I didn’t write this entry in a timely fashion as I was in mourning. You know, wearing black, lots of weeping. I’m sure you all understand… the US hockey team loosing the gold medal game in overtime was too much to bear.

I mean, Zach Parise scoring a goal for the US to tie it with 25 seconds left in the game was heart-stoppingly thrilling. Ryan Miller was absolutely inspirational in goal. The team as a whole played with passion and fight. But the day was Canada's, obviously.

Now, I don’t actually have anything against Canada… but their fans holding up signs that hockey is Canada’s sport really rubbed me wrong. I mean, which country keeps loosing teams to the other (Winnipeg Jets, Quebec Nordiques anyone)? Which country was home to a mere one third of the Original Six teams and only one fifth of the teams now? In other words, which country supports the league? I get that it’s their national sport, but to say that it’s THEIR sport (i.e. no one else’s), then why the heck is it in the Olympics to begin with? After all, the Olympics are about international sports. Yeah, I was riled.

Then there are the incredibly Canadian-bias announcers. This will never shut them up. Every single time they all made excuses for any problems… like the fact that they lost to the US earlier, or nearly lost two other times. Every time, no team had a chance in their eyes. A clue, MEN, a group of really talented guys does not a team make. And bias is bias is bias… please, for the love of hockey, stop making excuses and stop glorifying only Canadian players. I know, it’s a fantasy that will certainly now never be achieved.

You all know I also really don’t like the constant hype about Crosby. He’s good, but he’s not the best. But him scoring that game-winning goal in overtime? I’ll NEVER get to win that argument now – particularly with my Canadian family! Honestly, him being the one to score it hurt a lot more than them winning it. Still stings… a lot.

But mostly I ached for our boys who never let up, never wear even behind in a game in the entire tournament until that last game, who played with heart and without excuse. I wanted gold, but they deserved it. One thing is for certain, though... it was one heck of a game.

As for the Olympics as a whole, I had a great time. Apollo Ohno’s story was really delightful to watch unfold, seeing different countries winning in sports they don’t normally win in was exciting, and of course seeing all the men and women in flight one way or another was a blast. All the uplifting and inspiring stories that went along with the events were as always touching and wonderful. I’m glad I watched. Good show, mates.

And yes, gang, this blog in now an Olympics-free zone. Mostly.

The wondrous spectacle.

“…in what other place does the queen of silence show us more splendour…” - François-Xavier Garneau

With all lights out, I sat in front of a giant LCD LED HDTV with the surround sound turned up to decibels never before reached in this household to fully experience the festivities of the opening ceremonies of the 21st Winter Olympic Games. I mean, this is a one-night-only live show on which was spent 35 million dollars and the likes of which New York and Las Vegas shows can’t compare. With this killer system, it was nearly like being there… except I was in my robe instead of one of those white poufy parka-mini-skirts the help had on! And I didn’t get to bang a drum, darn it.

The lead up to the event included a wonderful reflection on Canadian-American relations and a lovely segment about carrying the torch near the arctic circle. Even the premier of the new version of the song “We Are the World,” recorded to benefit Haiti relief, was moving. But the main event was just getting underway!

I loved the visuals and the lead in with the sights of Canada and the snowboarder heading down the mountain and… into the arena. Really a great way to showcase the country’s beauty. One observation I had early on was when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were carrying in the Canadian flag. I was slightly surprised and not a little impressed that of the eight holding the flag, five were women. It’s not the typical idea of an RCMP, but rather an exciting one I think. What an honor to be chosen, too, regardless of sex.

Watching all the athletes in their procession, I observed that there really are a lot of beautiful people in this world. Really. I thought the colorful giant paisley print pants of Azerbaijan get the award for most daring outfit, far outstripping the Bermuda shorts of the (duh) Bermuda delegation. I thought Russia’s jackets were by far the nicest looking. (But then, if you don’t yet know, I adore red!) I was excited that there was a woman competing for Iran for the first time in the Winter Games – AND she carried their flag.

But most of all I was moved when the dancers stopped and the audience gave a standing ovation for the entrance and procession of the Georgian delegation. Such a truly tragic – and horrific – thing to loose such a young teammate (21) the day his dreams were to come to fruition. Kudos to both the Chilean and Croatian delegations for wearing the black armbands as a sign of respect. How sad that none of the bigger countries, or at least all the other lugers, didn’t follow suit.

As to the ceremonies themselves, I was delighted. So many things stand out. That 16 year old Nikki Yanofsky singing their national anthem – wow! The entire fiddling & tapping sequence was outstanding, exciting, and inspiring – fully my kind of thing, and so much energy! k.d. lang was utterly amazing singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” (I’ve never been a fan of hers, but that one performance caused me to want to be one.) And that slam-poet Shane Koyczan was phenomenal. Made me wish I was Canadian. Nearly. “…Don’t let your luggage define your travels – each life unravels differently…” Fantastic!

And then there was the torch lighting. But it’s a little hard for me to comment on it, as I was watching it via DVR (so as to skip commercials all night), so it cut out during the extended delay they had waiting for… I don’t know what. I missed it entirely – and was incredibly irked about it! Four and a half hours, and I miss the finale! I’m hoping it will eventually be posted online, but no luck so far.

I know it’s a bit silly to go on about this, but really it’s so thrilling to this child-like soul. I love the competition and the sport. I love the stories of overcoming personal struggles to just BE there. (Like that athlete from Tajikistan who didn’t qualify, but they let come be a part of it just for the experience – he won’t compete. He’s that country’s only athlete.) I love the spotlight on a city and country – in this case one of my favorite cities to which I’ve ever been. And I do love the pride of country that comes forth. It’s going to be a great two weeks.