A Great Wake-Up Call

Get into it.

I woke up lazily today at around 7:25am to my phone ringing off the hook.... "Get your ass out of bed and walk down the street" was the message when I finally answered. I am so glad I got that call. I'm also glad that I was randomly working from home (and not 5 minutes from my office cubicle which I would have been normally).

When I got my ass in gear (randomly in a pair of white track pants and a bright red hoodie) and got to the end of my street I was greeted by thousands of people dressed in white and red waving Canadian flags and cheering as loudly as they could. May I remind you that this was well before 8:00am.

I grabbed a coffee and stood at the side of the road like everyone else and watched as the madness ensued. First there were the sponsors giving away free canadian flags and 'swag' followed by the RCMP and then lastly the torch. Well not quite last. The torch came and then 200 or so people running behind the torch to keep up. It honestly brought a tear to my eye and tightened my throat.

I am one of those easily caught up in the ever increasing debates: 'are the Olympics good for a province or are they not so good', 'is the debt worth the re-structuring of the city or would the money be better spent on the most poor postal code in North America (East Side Vancouver)'.

Whatever side one ends up taking, its undeniable the power and excitement that comes with national pride and a symbol of hope. The news has been littered over the last few years with natural disasters and economic turmoil. The Olympics may have been created originally (way back when in Greece) as a deterrent to political strife but what if for a moment it is actually worthwhile for people to forget. For people to come together as one nation, as one world and celebrate humanity as a whole.

This morning was a breath of fresh air and I truly hope all of you get a glimpse of what these games mean to this country, just as I did.