A messy bun? Really? You expect me to look like a school marm?

I'm sure you have noticed, as the whole world has, the the Summer Olympics are happening. I'm not an Olympian. Never have been and, chances are good, I never will be. I'm not really a fan of watching the Olympics either. (Something about them turns me into an old man shaking his cane. I don't like that since I don't have the right parts to be a man and I am SO not old.)

However, unless you live in some small village without electricity and television, the Olympics are wholly unavoidable. So I will live with them and learn from them.

Train A LOT

The athletes competing at the Games didn't get there by accident. They have been working for years and training pretty much every day for the moments we are watching. None of the glory, none of the joy, none of tears, none of what's happening in the stadium and on our screens is an accident.

As future survivors, we need to train every day just like those Olympians did to get where they are. They looked to a possible future and made it the best they could by preparing for what might happen. Their success wasn't written in the stars. It wasn't foretold by soothsayers.

The future is mutable. Bend it to your will.

Gabby Douglas (photo from Times)

Haters Gonna Hate

Gabby Douglas is awesome at her sport. That is the theme here, at the Olympics. People who are not awesome at their sport are not invited to represent their countries.

The theme is not fashion. Nor is it hairdressing. At least, it shouldn't be.

Ms. Douglas was critiqued for having a less than attractive hairstyle. I believe it was referred to as "lazy." The woman is performing acrobatic feats on a balance beam. Most people I know lack the balance, skill, grace, and timing to perform those feats on the ground. If they tried them on a four inch wide beam of wood, even if it were not raised on the ground (which Gabby's was), they'd hurt themselves. I'd probably end up in the Emergency Room.

Oh, and let's not dismiss the fact that no one who competes at the Olympics is lazy. No. Just no.

By the way, she won the Gold. For her athletics.

Cry Goddammit

Merve Aydin (photo from mage 
by Lucy Nicholson / Reuters)

Sometimes, despite all the preparations, you lose a battle. Look at everyone who didn't place First, Second, or Third in the Olympics. All of them trained like the top tier athletes. All of them. None of them will go home with a medal. None of them will get a trophy.

All of them will cry.

That's not to say that all the tears will be ones of pain. Some surely will be. I am sure that much of the tears will arise from a release of pressure. They will be tears that say, "Okay, I didn't win this time, but I did really frakkin awesome! I made it to where every athlete dreams to go. I'll make it again next time. And I'll frakkin win!" (I am assuming that athletes of this caliber would never sully their mouths with cuss words.)

And some of those tears, like those of Merve Aydin, will be ones of pain. Excruciating, fiery pain. But Ms. Aydin's tears were shed while pushing through the pain to make it to the end. Regardless of how she felt, despite the physical duress, she refused to give up. Those are tears of glory. Those are the tears of NEVER GIVING UP.

Goddammit! Cry the Tears of Never Giving Up!

Tell us in the comments what you have learned from this year's Olympics!

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