Pencil Shavings

With Glowing Hearts

There are lots of flowery words I could say about the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, but far better writers have probably already said them.

What I will say is that for the last 17 days I opened a new world to my kids by turning the TV on every day (something that is rare in our house) and letting them see the amazing stories of amazing people from around the world.  I talked to them of my deep admiration of Clara Hughes, and why she is more than a role model for me. 

Together we watched the most heartbreaking stories, and the most glorious. The kids made me cry when they stood to sing O Canada.  These games have changed us.  I think that they have probably changed the whole country, in a way that is hard to believe.  Yet we believe.

We cheered the the athletes, those with broken hearts, and those who were simply broken.  We awed at the struggle, the fight, the victory and the strength in defeat.  We were able, as a nation to express the pride that we have always felt, but in the most Canadian of ways, were too humble to express before.  And we showed the world our true nature.  That we are fun, brave, strong, irreverent, and able to throw one hell of a party.

And yeah, we won a few medals along the way.

It's been a wonderful Olympics for us as a family and as a nation.  And tomorrow we have to go back to work.  But I hope that when we head out the door well still wear those maple leaves with pride.

Fingers Crossed for Theo

This is not a normal post for me, in fact I think I have to create a category for it!

Today it's about redemption, second chances, and hockey.

About 8 or 9 years ago I fell off the hockey bandwagon.  I still watched games during the playoffs (sometimes) and I would cheer my beloved Flames, but the magic and excitement was gone.  I didn't know a lot of the new players, and I missed the old ones that I loved.

I became a big hockey fan about the same time that a young fella named Theoren Fleury joined the Flames.  He was exciting, he was fast, he was tough, and he had this ability to magically make opportunities happen when he got the puck on his stick.  He was my peer - just a few years younger than me, he was the dream of the NHL.

He was a little guy, but scrappy and he was never intimidated by the big guys, he was everything that really made hockey worth watching.  At the Saddledome the crowd would go insane as soon as he got the puck... You couldn't hear anything but the shouts and screams of the crowd from the cheap seats as he dug in, and sped down the ice, nearly daring the opposition to take him out.  And often, they did, and he would get up  and give them hell and chase the puck down again.  I remember 1989, the race for the cup, and how the city went crazy, and all of us young fans were hanging our hopes on Theo.  And we weren't disappointed. It was the last time I stayed up too late watching hockey and dragged myself out of bed excited to rehash the game.  No other playoff run has captured me the way that one did

The night that the cup was won I lost my voice from cheering.  And I floated on that victorious high for weeks.

Now Theo is one of the "old guys"  (which I guess makes me an old girl!) and he's gone through a deep dark tunnel filled with addiction, fear, depression, and recovery.  Theo is back after 6 years of healing, and he is looking to do the impossible, stage a comeback at 41 to play hockey again.  And I'm excited to watch hockey again.

I am cheering for Theo.  I'm cheering for recovery.  I'm cheering for second chances.

I'm hoping, deeply, that Theo does great tonight, in his first game.  I'm hoping that he can see it through and that he has the chance to do what he dreams, and that the magic comes back, even for a little while, for all of us.

The Google Zeitgeist

Another Friday night, and another chance to do something frivolous with my time instead of doing some serious writing.

Here are the top ten search terms from Google for the week ending July 4^th (and a happy belated Independence Day to my American friends (all two of you).

#10 The Devil Wears Prada: The new movie based on the novel. My take... any movie with Stanley Tucci in it is a movie worth seeing (although given my child rearing state it may be on DVD).

#9 Kate Bosworth: the new 2006 Lois Lane. I'm still struggling with the idea of Lois getting hooked up with someone who is not Clark Kent... and have you ever wondered why so many comic book characters have alliterative names?

#8 Michelle Wie: Now here is a super hero I can support. If only because it's nice to see a woman making golf headlines instead of a buncha fat white guys with addiction problems.

#7 Fireworks: Did I wish all those American's a happy Independence Day? For a change we weren't awakened in the middle of the night on Canada Day by fireworks... the night before is another story.

#6 The View: Ah yes, that bastion of calm, rational, detached news reporting. Or am I thinking of something else?

#5 Spiderman 3 : the top ten seems littered with comic book characters this week... oh, sorry – I forgot not to count anything associated with The View. Superheros are made to suffer and none seem to suffer more than Peter Parker (see alliteration).

#4 Brandon Routh: Superman! Why is it that even when you are young, tall, fit and handsome you still look a little silly in tights?

#3 Wimbledon: Yes – there are other sports besides the World Cup, and Baseball... (I'll duck now!)

#2 Tour de France: I rest my case.

#1 Star Jones: Barbara erased from the show and the credits within 24 hours... I wonder if she was looking for a bigger eraser when Star went on the talk show circuit?

Friday Night Top Ten Blog Searches

It's Friday night, my brain is nearly sapped, so I decided to let the fine folks at Technorati give me the inspiration for this blog. Technorati provides a list of the most searched for blog and news topics in the last hour. The last hour. No wonder my life seems to be slipping away to quickly – and to reveal my antiquity - I remember when top ten lists were for a year!

The top ten blog searches for tonight are:

#10

Couchsurfing: Seems that the web site CouchSurfing.com has gone belly up. I had never heard of this site before, but it seems it was dedicated to the low budget traveler who wanted to crash on someone's couch while touring the local scenery, and to those who had couches to offer. I did a bit of this in my youth - both the crashing and the offering to people I barely knew. It was a great way to be immersed in a new city or country.

#9

Argentina: I was puzzled by this (living in a non-sporting household) until I remembered that the World Cup is on! D'Oh!

#8

The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind: a chilling book about the Bush Administration and some of the things that we hoped were rumors but that in fact are moon cast shadows compared to the truth. I wonder if this is going to keep me awake tonight

#7

Britney Spears: Well if the former won't give me bad dreams....

#6

Clay Aiken: Is is my imagination, or are we obsessed with celebrity or even near celebrity?

#5

Tour de France: The top contenders are out due to a doping scandal. Makes you wonder if Lance got out just in time (sorry... I couldn't help myself)

#4

Azure and Coincidence: the title of a poetic blog written three years ago that was lifted in it's entirety (including the title) and posted as another woman's blog. Plagiarism on the web – I suppose I should be shocked.

#3

World Cup: the world is cup crazy right now. Who am I cheering for? The team I always cheer for, the underdogs.

#2

Pirates of the Carribean: Movie? Theme park ride? Book? All of the aforementioned. Interestingly Johnny Depp wasn't in the top ten list of searches.

#1

Star Jones: Fired/Quit from "The View". It's the talk of the Internet (which makes me a little sad I have to admit) Maybe she can give a boost to CouchSurfing.com It will at least give her a place to rest that ridiculously large ring she's been sporting.

Have a great night!