First of all, I found a great spot (two blocks away) to watch the Olympic torch relay go by on Friday. FOR THE RECORD, before I say anything else about this, let it be known that I am deeply ambivalent about the whole Olympic 2010 thing, in general! For example, the torch relay... when you read the stories of the individual torch-bearers (many were 'ordinary Canadians,' but to me they were extra-ordinary!) ... a 16-year-old First Nations boy, an 80-something woman who was a gunner in WWII... you can't help but be touched that they got the opportunity to participate in this event. But then, I was there to see it... here's where Runner #1 is going to come from:
And here's the crowd gathering at the bridge, where Runner #2 is about to be dropped off:
He gets delivered by the first of many 'official' vehicles:
Now Runner #1 is coming ... along with the entourage of 'officials' (our Prime Minister was here, apparently, and I suppose the VANOC big-wigs, our Premier, etc., as well as the 'security' -- police on foot, police on motorcycles, police on bicycles, police on horse-back)...
Runner #1 finally emerges from the entourage ...
... lights the torch of Runner #2, and then gets on the bus that dropped off Runner #1.
The crowd closes in, and the event moves on...
So ... on a positive note, I felt a great sense of pride in Canada and in our young athletes, while I was watching all of this -- and I love history, so I'm also appreciative of the heritage of these games.
But ... the torches. I really thought there would be ONE TORCH, passed from runner to runner across however-many-hundreds-of-runners-across-Canada-for-the-next-3-months. But instead, each runner carries one torch -- one very expensive torch -- and lights the next runner's torch from it. Seems a little extravagant, doesn't it?
And that entourage... didja count how many vehicles there were in that parade? For WHO?
Like I said, deeply ambivalent.
Moving right along now... 'Show and Tell' from Friday's Knit'n'Cafe! Esther's adorable child's slippers (made from Cowichan wool) and more of my 'cork-dudes.' Apparently I forgot to mention that part in my last blog entry, and everyone thought they were much bigger ... well, they're wine corks, and I think they're cute!
Went to sleep Friday night looking forward to driving up to Duncan for the Cowichan Valley part of the torch relay, to join the Cowichan knitters in a show of support. Instead I woke up on Saturday morning in terrible pain, and a cheek like a chipmunk -- an abscessed/infected tooth. So instead, after I dragged myself over to the clinic for some antibiotics, I ended up spending most of the day in bed with a cold pack on my face! NOT fun...
I finished another pair of man-sized socks, though...
Good thing, too... didja know it's only 54 days until Christmas?? :)
4 comments:
Perhaps the runners get to keep the torch they carried? That would be just too cool!
I thought the exact same thing about the multiple torches, and also feel your ambivalence about the whole thing. They do get to keep the torches, but that to me just adds to the whole contrived and commercial aspect of it. To me it would seem more special to have a different token of the run, and just the one symbolic torch.
Up here there is a big to-do, as we are the last big stop on the island. We will watch the torch run, but not go downtown. Too commercial for us.
According to this CTV Olympics report there are "12,000-plus Olympic and Paralympic torches" being made and "VANOC says people involved in the relay will also be able to buy the torches for $349 - plus the applicable provincial sales tax."
Julie is right..the runner can BUY the torch for the amount Julie mentioned. A friend talked to one of the torch carriers and got this first hand.
My granddaughter sang in the school choir that welcomed the torch carrier into Cowichan Bay...Lordy Lordy, she was 'over the moon' with excitement..Gordie handed out Olympic pins (free!!) to each child..she got two more for HER two brothers! no grass growing under that girl's feet.
When I heard that FEMALE ski jumpers weren't allowed/accepted for the Olympics...grrrr... 10 steps forward and 100 steps back...
BUT I'm so proud of Marilyn being a volunteer in Whistler..way to go!
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