I have nothing political to say about the Olympics and Beijing and I'm certainly not the girl to dole out political opinions on the matter (especially since I had to spell check Beijing and I was wrong). I'll keep my opinions on a completely superficial "US Weekly" level as it's more my style.
Today the Olympic Torch "Run" is happening in San Francisco. From the 2 minutes of news coverage the kids let me listen to in the car after school pick up, and the 5 minutes I was able to catch on tv when we got home before they insisted they wanted to watch "a kid show", I can see that the torch run is no longer a run - it's really a walk surrounded by bedlam. Police everywhere, riot gear, barricades, news helicopters, protesters and supporters. It's very different from the torch run I witnessed in 1984.Did I really see the torch run? I think I did. Even if for the briefest of brief moments. I mainly remember the mad scramble from the backseat of the family car through all the side and back streets of Larkspur and Corte Madera trying to catch up with the torch after we missed the first glimpse outside our front door. There are no barricades or motorcades in my memory - just walls of excited people and much cheering. Maybe a police car or two - but no guns filled with tear gas and I'd be surprised if anyone was arrested for anything other than pot possession.
As I said, we missed our first chance to see the torch and had to chase it through 2 cities. I was probably being difficult and my mom/dad was probably trying to give me a memory to last a lifetime (It's so fuzzy I can't recall who took me... sorry mom if it was you!) and I remember the whole experience as harried. But eventually, we made our way up to Magnolia Avenue in Corte Madera, and at the foot of the Corte Madera grade we were able to catch a glimpse just as the torch went by. A wave of emotion rushed over me. Even though I did not grasp the scope of what I just witnessed, I knew it was cool. And I knew that I should try to hold on to the memory for a lifetime.
Will the people in SF today, surrounded by chaos, have that same feeling?
(SF torch run photo found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/smi23le/2401213133/)
1 comment:
That's too funny that you can remember going through two cities but can't remember who took you! Something to keep in mind when planning stuff for the kids! What is it they say, something about "it's not the destination but the journey" blah blah blah!
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