Champions all
Ihope everyone had a good week. Valentine’s Day issues all went well? Goodies from the local jewelry stores? It’s beneficial for me to have to write reminders about getting flowers and chocolates for my sweetie, or, otherwise, I’d forget. But it’s all worth it. I received some great presents too: a new bathroom trashcan and two packages of rat traps. It’s said by some that you can’t believe everything you read in this column, but the gift list is accurate. These are things I need. Don’t worry. My dear wife shared her delicious Lindt chocolates with me and took my car to get washed. Its annual bath.
We’ve been dealing with rats in our backyard and laundry room for two years usually during the cooler months. The rats are pretty smart. They leave once the weather gets hot. In the meantime, they are a nuisance forcing me to close down the bird feeder and bird bath. Someone told me to use peanut butter as bait. It works, but I’d like to be out of this job soon. I’ve hired a couple of cats.
A lot of good things have been happening. We found an NBC sports channel after Spectrum blocked the Super Bowl and threatened to black out the Winter Olympics in a contract dispute with the local NBC affiliate. Oh, my cable rates must not be high enough to satisfy all parties. Why do I enjoy the Winter Olympics? Because they are so exotic. Athletes ski down a steep slope, launch themselves over the edge, and do back flips and twists. They usually land upright. Figure skaters whirl over the ice occasionally throwing a partner over their head. Most land safely. I mean, ice, itself, is like outer space in these parts.
If you’ve been watching, the Russians are participating but not as an official Russian team. The official athletes are likely busy hacking into American voting systems since they were barred due to doping. Instead, the participants from Mother Russia are known as the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR). They haven’t participated before in the Olympics. But they are good. Hey, is it any wonder? It can snow in Moscow in August.
This brings me to curling. Or, if you like, you can call it sweeping because the players seem to be sweeping the ice in front of the “stone” as it sails toward its mark. Shuffle board on ice? I’m getting into it. It’s true that my daughter says I have too much time on my hands. The Russian “mixed couples” were great. Yes. She had eyes like Angelina Jolie. They outcurled the Norwegians.
One thing I really treasure about the U.S. team in the summer or winter Olympics is its diversity. At times, it’s unclear what country a U.S. athlete is representing. In this Olympics, the U.S. team boasts members whose ethnicity is Asian including a gold medal winner, Chloe Kim. At 17, she’s one of the youngest gold medal winners, and she did it in snowboarding. Her parents are immigrants from South Korea, the Olympic host country. If I were a political cartoonist, I’d draw the Statue of Liberty with a gold medal around her neck. Inclusivity has served America well, and I hope the Wizards in Washington don’t decide to pull up the drawbridge. Our multi-ethnicity is our strength.
Much closer to home, the Vincent Memorial Mock Trial Team from Calexico won the county championship defeating Brawley Union High. Vincent now advances to the California State Championships. Go Vincent! The last time Vincent won the county, the 12 apostles were still walking the earth or so it seems. The Scots will do well.