The Olympics are back again.  I watched most of the Opening Ceremony.  It was an amazing thing.  The drummers, for example.  How you can get all those people to do the same thing at EXACTLY the same time is mind boggling.

I gave up watching after some of the teams entered the venue.  As usual, I was amazed by all the countries I’ve never heard of.  But, then, I was curious about the lighting of the torch.  I’m a night owl, so I tuned in toward the end of the broadcast and had a chance to see the torch ceremony.

I’m not a big sports fan, but there is something about the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics that touches me.  It’s more about so much of the world coming together – if only we could truly understand each other and quit fighting, that would be my dream, Olympic or otherwise.

So, the lighting of the torch is always a touching scene for me.  If you didn’t get a chance to see it, here’s how it went.  There were 8 torch bearers.  The last one was a famous Chinese athlete.  After lighting his torch, he was elevated on some kind of a wire to the height of the “membrane” at the very top of the stadium, and if you saw any of the Ceremony, you heard about that.

Once he reached the top, the wire changed the angle at which he was suspended, and he “ran” all the way around the stadium.  As he passed by, photos of the travels of the torch from Greece were projected on the membrane.

How he had the strength to “run” in place while hanging on a wire is beyond me.  It was quite something.  Then, the torch had appeared as if by magic at the top of the stadium, and the lighting of the flame gave me a familiar lump in my throat.

And, the men’s gymnastic team got a Bronze medal!  How cool.

And, Sarah Brightman was there.  I am in awe of her voice, but I can’t help thinking that she always looks like she’s high on drugs.

One of the people I watched the early part of the Ceremony with (who will remain nameless) complained, “I can’t understand a word she’s saying!”

Guess that’s what happens when Sarah sings in Chinese…