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Thoughts on the Olympics

As I write this column the men’s hockey team from Canada is playing the U.S. in the semifinal game.

As I write this column the men’s hockey team from Canada is playing the U.S. in the semifinal game.

It is a game lots of people will be watching, even taking time off from work, no doubt.

But, I’m here. I’m here in body, anyway. Here I am in this newspaper type little office with a computer screen in front of me, painstakingly tap, tap, tapping the keys and sipping lukewarm coffee from a Styrofoam cup. Mostly, I’m wondering what the score is.

And as I write this, Canada is now sitting in second place for medal wins.

And I, no doubt, as Canadians are everywhere am feeling good, great, actually, that our country has done so well in the medal count.

It almost makes you want to stand up and sing the national anthem or salute the flag or, at the very least, wear a sweatshirt with ‘C A N A D A’ splayed across the front in big bold lettering.

I don’t ever remember feeling such patriotic pride since the year my husband and I traveled to Korea to visit our daughter who was teaching in Seoul.

They like Canadians over there. In fact they nicknamed us Mr. and Mrs. Montreal. Obviously they had Canada and Montreal mixed up.

Anyway, the Olympics, for me and probably lots of people, has brought back that fierce sense of patriotic pride that we didn’t even know we had.

Thanks to the Olympics we found out!

Anyway, for me watching our athletes step up to the podium to receive a medal seems to make me all proud and happy, like I am part of a great big family of winners.

It is very cool.

Mostly I just like the way the Olympics and Canada’s success at the Olympics kind of hovers over all of us in a good way; a positive way. My grandson, who is very wise in the ways of the world because he has reached a wise old age (he is five) has been watching lots of the Olympics on TV with his brother and his mom and dad.

After observing some of the events he turned to his mom and said, “we are so lucky we can watch the Olympics on TV and we don’t have to drive all the way to Russia.”

Good point!

I wish I had watched more of the events myself, but I seem to get all busy trying to be a grown up and finish my to do list, or at least find it.

But, the gym where I go to work out (mostly faithfully) has a TV in front of the treadmill. Every morning as I tread on the treadmill, I watch those amazing athletes on the hills or slopes or wherever they are over there in Russia.

And even watching such athletic ability in action inspired me to try a little harder before I collapsed in a pathetic heap of exhaustion which usually takes less than 20 minutes.

I understand that watching the Olympics has affected productivity at some work places. I know this to be true.

I’m less productive at the moment, for sure, and the guy at the meeting I was at the other day who was watching the hockey game on some electronic device was definitely not in the room.

But, still, for all of us Canadians out there, watching the Olympics has to be a good thing.

I, for one, am proud, very proud. Now, I need to go find out the score of that hockey game!

Go Canada go!

— On The Other Side