I'll be in Seattle and Vancouver from Feb 16-27 and hope to keep an ongoing travelogue of my preparations and my encounters. so let me start really early-
When I was 35, I learned to ice skate for the first time at my friend Dale's birthday party. My only memory of skating up until then was not a good one, so I was excited to have a wonderful time that nightl. I found myself dancing on ice, gliding and sliding, deciding right then and there I'd like to learn how to skate backwards. A few lessons later I was not only going backwards, but doing some simple spinning and jumping.
In 1984, Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean skated their way to Olympic history with an extraordinary combination of art and athleticism.
View this video of Torvill and Dean for a feast of beauty and exquisite ice dancing where they receive perfect scores for the artistic judging.
My whole family went to see them skate in Maryland. I found myself crying for joy. Here we were with thousands of people eating nachos, commenting about costumes, clapping for the skaters, booing the judges, all while seeing great art.
Hooked for life, this started a decade of going to ice skating exhibitions where my family saw such greats as Brian Boitono, Kristi Yamagouchi, Scott Hamilton. At that time was sown a seed- "I want to attend an Olympics someday"
Fast forward 21 years later-still skating, though my knees aren't too keen on jumping, yet still enchanted by the Olympics. Yes, I know the commentary gets schmaltzy and overwrought, but there is something spectacular about watching well trained bodies in motion.
In 2007 I said aloud for the first time this idea of going to the Olympics. And though my first stab at it didn't work out (Beijing), Vancouver seemed in my grasp.
So, I hope you enjoy the saga of how I am preparing, and follow me as I get to Vancouver soon.
