Sharing The Torch Experience…
Much has been said about the Olympic cauldron.
Even I had a blurb, not so much about the cauldron itself, but about one fine Canadian’s attempts to help folks have better pictures of the cauldron.
Earlier this week, I was contacted by another one of the Torch runners from Pitt Meadows, who let me know that on Saturday, a few Torch runners were going down to the Olympic cauldron, to take pictures.
I was in !
So it was, that at 11:30 on Saturday morning, I found myself, along with my Torch runners’ uniform and Torch, down at the Olympic cauldron.
The cauldron viewing area itself, has been improved, quite dramatically, from what it was.
It took me a few minutes to see the other Torch runners, as they were off to one side.
Eventually we collected, were interviewed for CTV and a few other TV networks, and joined by a 7 foot tall Russian character, promoting the 2014 Winter Games in Russia.
Then the fun started.
People are enamored with the Torch, and the Torch experience.
Perhaps second only to the Mapleleaf, it has become symbolic of these Games.
However, unlike the Team Canada Jerseys, and Canada Hoodies, which have become wonderfully ubiquitous, the Olympic Torch has been something which only a lucky few get to experience.
Yesterday, I got to share that experience with hundreds of people.
It started as a series of double takes from folks near by, and an incredulous “Is that a REAL Torch?” Followed by a pleading… “Would you take a picture with me?”
Over the next seven hours, I shared the Torch, and took pictures with people from all over the globe. I met people from Mexico, Germany, China, Japan, Africa, Norway, Turkey and a lot from the Vancouver area. Quite a number were unable to speak English, so I don’t know where they came from. Quite a few who recognized me from my run in Pitt Meadows. One lady, (who I hope reads this and contacts me,) was with me, as I waited to run my leg of the relay. After a while, I stopped asking where people were from, because I realized, it didn’t matter. People seemed to be universally grateful for a chance to take a picture with the Olympic Torch, and it didn’t matter where they were from.
“Why are you doing this?!?”was another question… because while folks are getting used to lining up, and the line-ups are usually pretty well organized, an ad hoc opportunity like this, without stanchions or supervisors, seemed unusual to people. My reply was “Because I wanted to share my good fortune.”
People were nervous, and felt pressured to take a picture. I tried to make sure that everyone got a chance to take a good picture — that the Olympic logo on the Torch was showing, and tried to make sure no one’s face was obstructed by the Torch. Several people got mad at me, when I told them they had turned off the camera, instead of taking a picture… Some of them came back, later, because their photos “didn’t turn out” 😳
Many times a husband waved off the offer of switching out with a spouse, to get a photo, only to show up, sheepishly, a short time later, after having thought it over !!! 😆
Finally, when it was getting dark, and harder to see, I was able to tuck the Torch away, and head home through the crowds… tired, but happy.
I’m proud that I hung in so that everyone that asked for a picture, got a chance to take one… I’m glad that I was able to share an Olympic Torch with so many people… And I’m again SO thankful for the opportunity that I got to do this.
The Olympics are about the World coming together, for a shared experience. On a very tiny level, I participated in that experience yesterday.
Must. Watch. TV…
It is absolutely FRANTIC out there…
There are Olympics on the TV… something like 22 different options for my Cable and Online viewing, and that doesn’t even start to include the ancillary “un-official” stations, reporting the events that have already happened.
Skeleton is happening at the same time as Super G, while the Curling is going on, and I haven’t been to Heineken House yet !!!
whew…
I feel like I need to switch to decaf, but there is JUST NO TIME !!!
I don’t want to miss anything, but I also am starting to realize that it is a delicate balancing act of watching, partying and just “being”…
I have been trying to cram SO much in, that I am starting to feel pressured… and that’s not fun.
So…
Gonna take a deep breath… have a small dram of scotch… and kick back with some (but not all) of the hundreds of hours of viewing I have taped on the PVR.
See you around Town, tomorrow !
You’ll know me… I’ll be the one in Red.
Cheers !!!
Very Canadian…
Yesterday, I observed what may have been the quintessential event, which has made my Olympic experience complete. It had nothing to do with sports. I was not running a Torch. I didn’t meet any Gold Medal Winning athlete. I wasn’t involved, at all.
There have been, as there always are, problems and glitches at these Games, and some have gained some profile. From the lack of affordable housing for residents of the Downtown East Side, to the much-maligned, malfunctioning Zamboni, these issues have been covered and drawn attention to, by folks who are better informed, and better writers than I. On this day, I wanted to see, with my own eyes, the Olympic Cauldron, and see for myself, the offensive fence, with its off-putting mesh, and see for myself, what the reality of the situation was, without spin or agenda.
From what I had been told, the Cauldron is a LONG ways away. Because of the adjacent International Broadcast Centre, there is an understandable concern for security… But at the same time, the Olympic Flame being visible only through the two inch gaps in a chain link fence, makes it tangible evidence, in a thousand photographs of parents trying to juggle kids in front of a fence, with some glimpse of flame in the distance, that these Olympics are VERY security conscious.
A not very family-friendly photo-opportunity, for a city that is supposed to be friendly, and welcoming.
I went down there, just after lunch-time, and saw that the fence was pretty far away from the Cauldron, and that families were, in fact, having difficulty getting a photo in front of the small gate of open fence that afforded the view. ***
I penguin shuffled, in turn, to the front… stuck my camera lens through the fence, zoomed in, as much as I could, and clicked away. As I walked away, my eye was caught by a different line, off to one side. A young man, standing about four feet off the ground, holding onto a metal stand with one hand, with one foot on a concrete post, and the other foot dangling in mid air. He was, in turn, reaching down, and taking the cameras that people were handing up to him. He would take photos for them, over the top of the eight foot fence, and hand the camera back, before taking the photos for the next person.
He did this for several different “groups” of tourists… and then jumped down, and, without another word to any of them, went on his way.
I think in the past while, all of us Vancouverites have tried to make an effort to help folks.
Whether with directions, taking a photo, or offering tourist suggestions… we are, by and large, I believe, trying to be a good Host City.
The guy climbing the fence, was, literally AND figuratively, head and shoulders above the crowd… and he disappeared before I could get a name or a picture… but I know the folks who you helped will be telling their friends back home… and I’m telling my readers…
You might be the most Canadian of us all !
Cheers !!!
*** Since I was there on Tuesday, VanOC has apparently made some changes, and is reportedly working on more. Regardless, the fence-guy rocks !!!
Thanks For The Memories…
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to run a leg of the Olympic Torch Relay, through Pitt Meadows .
I was a last minute substitution, for someone who didn’t show up, so none of my family or friends were there, to see or share the joy of this great honour.
It is a memory I will cherish, for the rest of my life.
The only tinge of sadness I felt, was that my wife was not there to share the moment.
At the end of the relay, those of us on the bus, knew we had participated in a moment we would always treasure.
However, although I had taken photos with a lot of strangers, I had no camera, and had no photos to share with my family.
The Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows Times came to my rescue. Apparently, Don MacLean, the Mayor of Pitt Meadows, had forwarded a post from my blog about this experience, to the editor of our local paper. A reporter, Maria Rantanen, called to interview me, and ask about my experience.
At the end of the interview, I asked, if it was possible, to mention that I didn’t have any pictures, and would love to have photos to share with my family.
Because of the wonderful article she wrote, I have received e-mails and calls from a number of kind people who have shared their pictures.
I am overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.
Many thanks again, to all involved.
Hello, Art… It’s Me, Absolut Vodka…
I’m a big fan of Whimsy.
I also like Whimsy”s BFF Serendipity.
The two of them are in town for the next while, under the context of a contest.
Those wacky folks at Absolut Vodka are, in competition with the 2010 Winter Olympics, offering up a HUGE prize to be awarded to a Vancouver Artist. One who defines Vancouver as the ABSOLUTE home of the Arts.
On March 16th, the voting will end, votes tallied, and $120,000.00 will be awarded to the winner.
There are a total of 5 finalists, and all of them, I’m sure would benefit from receiving such an award. Really, who wouldn’t ??? Most artists struggle, and in this economy, with Arts funding cutbacks, the struggle is only that much greater, I’m certain.
You can vote, on the Contest Website, here…
As I’ve said in a previous post, I don’t know much about Art… but in my opinion, one Artist’s work stands out…
Vancouver has long been called the “City of Glass.”
I don’t know where it started from, but I like it, and I think it fits.
For me, I think Braden Hammond’s work, speaks more to me, of what represents the arts in Vancouver… but that is just my singular (and un-informed) opinion.
Make YOUR voice heard, by going on the website, and voting !!!
(And for those of you who know that I’m a scotch drinker, and are wondering why I’m doing this? I heard about this contest on Twitter, and if Absolut Vodka is going to support the Vancouver Arts Scene… by golly, I’ll support Absolut Vodka !!!)
*This is the fine print… Voters have to be over 19, and Absolut Vodka asks you to please use their product responsibly. I ask you to never vote under the influence, or Tweet over a Blood Alcohol level of .08. It is quite fine print, but hopefully still legible. If you can’t read it, either get reading glasses, or STOP getting glasses of Vodka. Thanks to the fine folks at ABSOLUT Vodka for choosing Vancouver for this project. It is the best city in the World. If you live in another city, I won’t debate you, until you move here for five years. At the end of five years, send me an e-mail. Otherwise, I don’t want to hear about your city. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not now, nor have I ever received remuneration either financial or liquid, from any Liquor Company. If ABSOLUT Vodka wants to change that, I will happily re-write this disclaimer, LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED!!! I just thought it was a cool contest, and with the Olympics going on, is probably having a tough time getting visibility. So I thought my tens* of readers, might like to know about it !!! *Further disclaimer: Yes, my Blog hit a one day total of triple digits recently, but that was a Gift, because, unexpectedly, I Ran in the Pitt Meadows Olympic Torch Relay. This concludes the fine print portion of this post. We now return you to a regular size font.
Cheers !
Belated And Somewhat Wordless Wednesday…
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I’m relatively new to Blogging.
On other Blogs, I have seen Posts, where people take pictures, and let them do the talking for themselves. I am unable to simply post pictures without adding commentary, so here we go: For those of you who have been here before, you have probably discovered that I am JUUUUST a little excited about the Olympics, and all that the Lower Mainland has to offer. Yesterday, I went into Downtown Vancouver again, this time on the West Coast Express, intent on exploring and trying to relay some of the opportunities for joy and fun that friends and I, encountered. I was getting myself sorted out, in a spare office at the company where my wife works, when a Tweet came in from Stacey Robinsmith, of StaceyRobinsmith.com, saying he was at the W2 Opening, and did I want to come down ? On my way to the temporary offices of W2, I encountered a stereotype of the Downtown East Side… A pawn shop and closed grill gate beside it. I got to W2, just in time to hear Irwin Oostindie talk about the goals of W2, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson speak, and hear a vocal group perform. When I left there, I headed to Canada’s Northern House, and had fun with their video presentation… On the way by, I assisted a delivery man into The Royal Canadian Mint House, and followed him — “oblivious” to the “We open on the 12th” sign. I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, but it will be worth a visit, THAT I can tell you! Had lunch with my wife, and some friends, and then went to the Bay’s Olympic Super Store, where we had to line up outside for a few minutes, before the very friendly and most conciliatory security team let us in. It was just that busy — and the Olympics haven’t even started yet! After poking around there, my friends wanted to go to the Roots store, so we headed over there. Employees from every corner of the country have been brought in to help out. I spoke with employees from Edmonton, Ottawa & Montreal, who were here to help out the Vancouver crew. Along the way, there were a number of people we helped with taking photos, and some passersby and store clerks took pictures of US! In lineups, we met, amongst others, folks from New York, Ottawa, Russia and a poor soul who had travelled ALL the way from Richmond!!! The man from Ottawa is most excited to be here to see his friend, who will be competing in the Luge competition. Again, I am struck by the amazing variety of Flags, Banners and Store Windows that (even if they are not an Olympic Sponsor) pay homage and reflect the joy and spirit of the Games. This brought to a conclusion Day 2 of Downtown exploration. I am SO looking forward to the starting of the Games and continuing to explore next week. Stay tuned!
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