Closing Ceremony

Tonight is the Closing Ceremony for the Olympics, which I always approach with mixed feelings.

On one hand, I'm a little relieved that I'll have more personal time. It seems I've spent the past two weeks alternating between work and the Olympics, to the detriment of housework or anything else.

On the other hand, I'm a little sad. I watch so much of the Olympics because there's always something to watch. There are sports I will never see on TV otherwise, so I can learn about them and see what I've been missing. There is plenty of drama and pageantry. There are the beautiful beaches and mountains.

But most of all, there are the athletes. I realize that we had a few this time who didn't exactly acquit themselves well, but those were a minority. Overall, I saw many inspirational people from all over the globe, who demonstrated humility, hard work and skill. I saw people in tears because they were able to compete against the best in the world ... and it didn't matter if they won a medal or not. They were at the pinnacle: the Olympics!

I saw people from all over mingling with each other, talking and sharing stories. Nationalities and religions took a back seat to connections, to humanity. They had more in common than they had differences.

And that is what I will miss the most. The Olympics offer us a glimpse of what we could all be: people with much in common, who want to win but never to humiliate, who recognize the skills in each other and respect them. We could all be the runner who tumbles to the ground, jumps to her feet and then stops to help her fellow competitor, even at the risk of her own victory. We could all reach out and shake hands.

There are many reasons that can't really happen, but the Olympics remind me of the possibilities.

So I say "thank you" to all of the Olympic athletes. May you have as much success in the rest of your lives as you did in showing us the meaning of sportsmanship and humanity.

How It All Began Part 2

Here's another excerpt from my first novel, Outsider. (Part 1 was last week. I hope you've read it!)

          Sean heard the cell door behind him slide open and turned to see a guard standing in the doorway.  It was the same one who had delivered his breakfast.

         The guard stepped into the cell and surveyed the contents, his eyes pausing on the bulky gray pressure suit hung on the wall next to the door, although he kept Sean within his peripheral vision.  Sean had already inspected the suit, finding it to be nothing more than a spacesuit with built-in oxygen supply but few accessories.  He’d never seen one up close, but there wasn’t much to see so he’d mostly forgotten about it since his first examination.

         “We’re having a safety drill,” the guard said.  “You’ll have to put that on.”

         “Safety drill?” Sean repeated.  “On the last day?”

         “Just put it on.”  The guard took a step back while Sean approached the spacesuit, and Sean noticed that he glanced once down the hallway.

         Sean struggled into the suit, which resisted his efforts to fasten it.

         “Let me help you,” the guard said.  “Keep your arms in the air.”

         Sean obeyed while the guard tugged at the zippers.

         “Where’s your partner?” Sean asked.

         “Busy.”  The guard paused.  “But he’d hear me if you try anything.”

         “I’m not in here for murder,” Sean said.  “You’re safe from me.”

         Sean noticed that the guard kept an eye on his prisoner’s hands while he secured the suit.

         “I don’t understand why this is necessary,” Sean said when the guard reached for the helmet.

         “Just a precaution.  I’ll be back to remove it when we’ve landed safely."

         Once the guard had locked the helmet in place, he said something, but Sean couldn’t hear the words.  After the guard backed out of the cell, Sean turned toward the porthole again and this time his eyes picked up movement out there, although it was a few seconds before he became aware of it.  There was a small cluster of stars coming toward him, which couldn’t be right.  Sean squinted at the moving lights until he recognized them as another spaceship, but he couldn’t see much of it because only the cockpit lights were on.  As he strained to make out any details of the ship, he realized that it had picked up speed as it approached.  Although the sight made him suspect that this was more than just a drill, he couldn’t figure out who would threaten a prison ship.  There couldn’t be anything of value on board.  Unless it was a case of mistaken identity, it just didn’t make sense.  Nevertheless, he instinctively ducked when the ship passed overhead.  Then he straightened up and laughed.  False alarm.

         There was a distant roar, barely audible through the helmet.  Sean checked to make sure the helmet was secure and then he felt ridiculous, standing there like an awkward monster, but that didn’t last long.  The next thing he knew, he was on the floor as the ship rocked.  He tried to grab at the bunk bolted to the floor but he slid away from it when the cell tipped.  He bounced off the wall back toward the cot and managed to grasp a leg of it.  He was rolled back and forth for several seconds.  Then there was an orange flash and everything around him disappeared in a yellow-white glare that burned itself onto his vision.  Try as he might, shaking his head and blinking, Sean could not dispel the painful glow his immediate world had become, a world in which he felt himself falling.  He was no longer holding onto anything and flailed his arms around wildly, trying to find something to break his fall.

          There was nothing.

Thanks for reading!