Gold

For two weeks in February Laura and I sat glued to the television, devoting as much time as possible, while balancing school and social life, to the Winter Olympics. If we weren't together watching, we were on the phone. Laura loved the action; I loved the medal ceremonies, and Jim McKay, and the fascinating tours of Sarajevo. There was Bill Johnson, Torvil and Dean, and my new personal hero, Debbie Armstrong. She won the gold in the giant slalom, a complete unknown, and we had the same sweater; I thought maybe we were soul mates. At that point I was fairly certain the giant slalom was my golden ticket. Maybe if I worked very hard and skied every day, maybe I could be the Debbie Armstrong of the 1988 games.

There were just a few problems with that plan, the two previous knee surgeries and lack of any formal training being secondary to my limited proximity to anything vertical, having just enrolled at the University of Kansas . So maybe I could just go to the 1988 games, that became our plan. Laura and I would be seniors in college then, we could take the semester off, and the games were to be in Calgary, just up the road, we could work at the Olympics! Genius!

Calgary was spectacular, and I watched every bit of it on my television in Lawrence, Kansas. My Olympic dreams continue, the flame comes closer to home, Chicago 2016. Not everyone is pleased but politics, and sensibility, aside, I am giddy. Now, my sport options are limited as I will be about 70 when this actually happens. All my hopes and dreams are now focused on the torch relay, but I will have to do something to make myself worthy of such an honor. Hero, that's my best guess, do something heroic and earn myself two minutes with the great flame. Being a big chicken, this is not going to be easy. It certainly need not be a great moment, I'm not shooting for the final carrier, as wonderful as that might be I would suppose that spot might be reserved for someone like, oh maybe Michael Jordan. Oprah will probably get a leg, maybe Ernie Banks, but Chicago is a big city, and Greece is very far away, certainly they can find room for me.

Chicago 2016, I'm hopeful. Laura, do you want to come over? We'll be here.