歌友会
当清风送来一抹草籽的芬芳，我蓦然忘了忧，欢天喜地起来。
I was not excited about the 2008 Olympics when it started.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching sports, and I did check out the game schedule a week before August 8. My lack of passion has a lot to do with the year 2008. It started with several pretty bad snow storms, followed by a seemingly endless array of natural, social and political disasters. Many of us were chained to an emotional roller coaster, where the feelings of sadness, confusion, anger, shock, grief, depression and helplessness kept hitting hard. By the month of July I was pretty much overwhelmed, and all I wanted was a vacation, a mental retreat, a hiding place far away from strong emotions, heated debates and fierce accusations. Our country has gone through a lot, why can’t we all just get along?
Then the Olympics started, as planned.
I’ve paid a lot of attention to the Olympics ever since high school. After all, where else could you find such unique entertainment that comes only once in four years. As for this year, it provides me a perfect opportunity to kick back and relax. That’s right; to me this event hardly means anything more than “a collection of games”.
But once again, I found myself unprepared.
I was amazed when 33 year old gymnast and 41 year old swimmer challenged their physical limits and won silver medals, years after they became mothers. I watched with astonishment that someone actually swam 10 kilometers with only one leg. I was touched by the heart-warming gestures of friendship and generosity displayed by many athletes, such as Li Ning, who made a donation to Chusovitina in the hope that her son does not have to fight leukemia any more; and Usain Bolt, who took money out of his own pocket to help children suffering from
Then it was the closing ceremony.
After athletes from different countries rushed into the stadium from all directions, I felt like a party was about to begin. But all too soon this cheerful atmosphere gave way to the sad reality that it is time to say good bye. Then there was a commercial break from NBC, which happened all too often during the past two weeks. It was for visa, and Morgan Freeman’s familiar voice arose from the background:
“There are six billions of us. We do not always agree…But for a few shining weeks, we put aside what makes us different, and hold on to what makes us—the same.”
I saw this commercial before, maybe once or twice. I remembered being cynical, “Who are you kidding?
But that night it struck me. What is this Olympic spirit everybody keeps talking about? Why most countries take the trouble of coming to this “collection of games”? Apart from great athletic achievement, what lingers in people’s mind? I suddenly realized that with all the conflicts going on in this world, there is love, friendship, tolerance and respect. There is trying your best without worrying about losing your face. There is helping fellow human beings because we are all human beings. These are the things that we are so desperately trying to hold on to. These are the things that may change the world for the better, little by little.
So the moment when all events came to an end, I wished they could last a little bit longer. I wished that in this chaotic world filled with all sorts of negativities, we could take a break once in a while, hopefully more frequently than 16 days in every 4 years.
Is that too much to ask?
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歌儿按：昨天晚上家里的网络出了问题，所以没能下雨，但估计大家周一上班都忙，晚上再来淋雨也是一样的。:)
这篇看完了我眼睛湿了，所以提前发个警告，经常掉烂豆子的姐妹们请自带纸巾。:)
惭愧呀!
觉得worldling和我就是更厉害.
嘿嘿，想迷惑我们不是那么容易滴，罚你给我们每人来碗红茶喝：）
松真是名不虚传的擂台台主！：）
我这回搅混水彻底失败了，群众的眼睛果然是雪亮的 :)
bbb~, 采访Johnson的这期节目我也听说了。想想当运动员可真不容易，总免不了要评论自己不想评论的事儿。
没问题，你喜欢拿去就好 :)
看到你跟我探讨我们看不看NBC的时候,就觉得应该是你了,可惜没有跟风该猜你..我又开始向错误的道路上走了. :(
MM,可以转你这篇去我的园子吗?写的几乎都是我想说的. :)
牛蛙博士，饼妹，bbb~, 看海MM, 水牛，牛油果，人人有奖！:)
我也看了不少奥运，熬了不少夜，看体操男团那晚上熬得，只好第二天请假。VISA好些广告都挺酷。也喜欢MARY做的中国专题系列。红茶描述的那些感动和心动也都让我感动和心动。Bob Costas 的closing remarks 说得铿锵有力，虽然内容有点空洞无物，但抑扬顿挫的英文让我听了好几遍。
不过我到底还是掉回beign cynical去了，大概是太老了：）
Jay Leno的秀邀请Shawn Johnson做客，当被问到中国体操运动员是否年龄不足时，Shawn Johnson说，“I hope they are playing by the rules, but I believe whatever the truth is, it's not their decision." 这个小丫头真是爱死人了：）
周末旅行回来，继续补课中。
Follow W MM:
最后锁定红茶 -zt
昨天晚上我努力奋战了半天想把这篇贴出来，本来也想盼着别人猜我的，但后来想想怪不好意思的，再说大家也知道我不爱看体育的，就是冒充也冒充不了，所以就直接告诉大家准备纸巾了。
谢谢几位撒大网的妹妹的错----爱，这回听我的没错。一是我写不那么好，二来我对奥运也没那么大兴趣（要不怎么会才认识飞鱼呢？）。我最开始怀疑过暖姜，后来是歌儿，最后锁定红茶--一切都很MAKE SENSE：）
大家今天猜的很踊跃啊，我要不要公布答案呢？那几个multiple choice的人，赶快抓紧时间锁定最终答案吧，否则就算有对的也不给分的。:)
多谢，多谢，每次看到你就开心，呵呵。
我也惦记你啊！仰视
原来如此，这末说在加拿大的姐妹们也不能被排除喽？
多谢惦记，感动得俺一塌糊涂，呵呵。
其实我看NBC多,除了解说员的话实在是太偏袒的时候,因为CBC通常只转有加拿大比赛的部分.
多谢爱读的厚爱,你猜我肯定是因为做了功课..这篇里有很多东西的确跟我的感受一致,这就是文字的好处(歌儿语),我又可以偷懒了.
长发姐很可能收看CBC, 不看NBC，呵呵。
为什末没人猜暖姜？
好!
要错大家一起错.有人作伴,就不害怕.;)
跟探长南山松风：红茶，worldling,hairycat,longhair. ：）
谢谢信任.
万一错了,可别后悔呀!
红茶，worldling,hairycat,longhair. ：）
再加几个可疑人物:
worldling,hairycat,longhair.
show up ----dear red tea sister!
p.s. Glad to see you show up again, Girl. I was a little worried :)
一会儿来读。